Our first stop is Smokey Bear
This Black Bear Cub, with burns,
was found clinging to a tree after
the Capitan Gap Fire in the
Spring of 1950.
Game Warden Ray Bell flew the badly brunt cub to Santa Fe for care. oversaw his recovery. Dr. Edwin Smih, a veterinarian who had never treated a bear, treated Smokey burns and released him int Ray Bell's care. Ray, his wife, Ruth, and daughter, Judy, nursed Smokey back to health.
The National Forest Service finally had a live bear to promote their Fire Safety Program.
The Prevention of Forest Fires
Campaign, with Smokey,
started in 1944.
The National Forest Service
had been hard at work for
years fighting wildfires.
A scale model of a
In 1930, engaging the public in Wildfire Prevention started.
Photos of Fire Spotters &
Fire Fighters.
The need for raw material to
supply the military's needs
made a nationwide campaign
fire prevention program
necessary.
Smokey Bear was given a home at the National Zoo in Washington, DC later in 1950.
The Fire Prevention Program
has worked successfully for
decades.
And, Smokey's image grew....
Besides appearances, his balloon
debuted at the Albuquerque
Balloon Fiesta in 1993.
The beloved balloon crashed into a radio tower at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in 2004.
A hands-on area for children
at the Historic Park.
Smokey Bear died on November 9, 1976, at the National Zoo in Washington, DC.
A small bear cub clinging to
at tree decorates Smokey's
grave.
Nearby, Smokey Bear's
Balloon is buried.
Eric & I get a pic
with Smokey before
we set out in search
of more New Mexico
History.
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