Southampton Town Celebrates Smokey Bear's 80th Birthday

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Smokey Bear, familiar for decades in his fight to prevent forest fires, is celebrating his 80th birthday.

And to mark the big event, Southampton Town's department of public safety and emergency management, in coordination with the Southampton Trails Advisory Board, has installed new Smokey Bear wildfire prevention placards at different trailheads, town officials said.

The Smokey Bear campaign, first launched on August 9, 1944, "is one of the longest running and most successful ad campaigns in U.S. history. For 80 years now, Smokey Bear has been a symbol of wildfire prevention spreading the word that, 'Only You Can Prevent Wildfires,'" town officials said, sharing the Smokey Bear website's information.

The new Smokey Bear wildfire prevention placards were placed at six different trailheads townwide, including Barrel Hill, Red Creek, Long Pond Greenbelt, Mulvihill, Laurel Valley and Tuckahoe Woods trails.

Southampton Town Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara, a town board liaison to both the fire marshal’s office and the trails advisory board, spoke about the effort. "The Town of Southampton has some of the best trails and parks that can be found. We all must do our part to help preserve and maintain these spaces for the enjoyment of future generations. Wildfire prevention is key to maintaining the beautiful green space in the Town of Southampton," she said.

Town Code Compliance and Emergency Management Administrator Ryan Murphy, who oversees the fire marshal’s Office and initiated the Smokey Bear recognition efforts in town, added: "The Smokey Bear message of ‘Only You Can Prevent Wildfires’ is just as relevant today as ever. Statistics still indicate that more than 80 percent of wildfires are still started by accidents or bad behavior. Especially with the devastating impacts of Southern pine beetle infestation to our area, our woodlands are very fragile with a high amount of dead tree fuel that could feed careless fires. I hope people heed Smokey’s warnings."

Residents visiting the trails are encouraged to join the Smokey Bear birthday celebration by taking a picture with the new signs and posting to social media using the hashtag
#SmokeyBearSouthampton.