SMOKEY STILL NEEDED AT 60.

Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY 

Are you ready for this? Smokey Bear turns 60 on Monday. Two more years, and he'll be eligible for Social Security.

Wasn't it just a couple of minutes ago we were sitting in grammar school, learning his fire safety motto that would stay with us the rest of our lives?

``Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires!''

At one time, it was the most recognized slogan in the country. In a study, schoolchildren were given the first few words of popular slogans and told to finish them.

More children were able to complete Smokey's motto than any other slogan presented to them, according to the bio on his Web site.

Yeah, the bear's got a Web site now - www.smokeybear.com. Probably a cell phone and Palm Pilot, too. His motto's also been updated - ``Only YOU Can Prevent Wildfires.''

It's an important distinction, especially in Los Angeles, where the brush fire danger continues to grow as urban life encroaches on wildlands.

Trying to get that message out, the Los Angeles City Fire Department threw Smokey a 60th birthday party Saturday at its fire museum in Hollywood.

``With more homes being built in brush-covered wildland and forestry areas, it's imperative we get Smokey back in the limelight on his 60th birthday, and his safety message updated to the public this fire season,'' said retired city Fire Department Assistant Chief Frank Borden, director of the museum, which has an extensive Smokey Bear collection.

Joel Frandsen, chairman of the National Association of State Foresters, agrees.

``People say Smokey's outdated, that he isn't as important to the country as he once was,'' says Frandsen, Utah's state forester. ``But they're wrong.

``Because of the urban encroachment on wildlands, Smokey's more important at 60 than he's ever been. He's still one of the top recognized icons in our nation, right up there with Mickey Mouse and Santa Claus.

``Who better to get our safety message out?''

Nobody. It looks like Smokey's going to have to wait more than a few years to retire.

Did you know there was a real Smokey? I didn't. He came along six years after the U.S. Forest Service and the War Advertising Council introduced a bear as a campaign symbol in 1944.

Timber was a primary commodity for battleships, gunstocks and packing crates for military transport, so the war council wanted to mobilize civilian support for preventing forest fires.

``A significant chapter in Smokey's long history began early in 1950, when a burned cub survived a fire in the Lincoln National Forest, near Capitan, N.M.,'' says Smokey's Web site.

``Because the bear survived a terrible forest fire and won the love and imagination of the American public, many people mistakenly believed the cub was the original Smokey Bear, even though he came along six years after the advertising symbol began.

``After being nursed back to health, Smokey came to live at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and was visited by thousands of people from around the world.

``A mate, Goldie, was introduced with the hope a young Smokey would continue the tradition of the famous living symbol. These efforts failed, and an adopted son was sent to the zoo so the aged bear could retire on May 2, 1975.

``Smokey died in 1976, and his remains were returned to Capitan to rest beneath a stone marker in Smokey Bear State Park.''

And that's where he remains today, says Sherie Thetford, a volunteer at the park, who was on her way out the door Friday morning to take a group of schoolchildren on a tour of Smokey's resting place.

``We still get people from all over the country visiting Smokey's grave,'' Thetford said. ``He's as popular as ever, and we're expecting a big crowd on his birthday.''

Locally, a Smokey Bear birthday bash is being held at 11 a.m. Monday, at Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City.

Bring the kids or grandkids by, and let them meet the famous bear in person. Seems like just a few minutes ago he was teaching us a slogan we've never forgotten.

``Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires.''

And now that he's turning 60, the message is more important than ever.

Dennis McCarthy, [phone]

dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Lorenzo Rosas, 7, of Los Angeles waits eagerly for the cake at a 60th birthday party for Smokey Bear on Saturday.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer