Carol Baldwin
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wakaw Recorder
The Wakaw Public Library hosted an important presentation on Tuesday, August 5, for children of all ages.
As part of a Wildfire Prevention presentation with Smokey the Bear, sponsored by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), Kale, a Public Education Program Coordinator with the SPSA, met with young people at the library to talk about wildfires and safety.
Areas where fires have been prevented for decades have simply been storing “fuel,” in the form of underbrush growth and dead standing trees. Changing climate has brought drier conditions, and this makes forests more prone to easy ignition. Now, catastrophic blazes, which were once an unusual occurrence, can be started by the heat from a lightning strike or the exhaust pipe of an ATV. As of August 5th, there were 80 active fires in the province, with only seven listed as contained, meaning that suppression actions taking place are succeeding in holding the fire and it is not expected to grow in size.
Thirteen communities are currently under an evacuation order: Northern Village of La Loche; Clearwater River Dene Nation; Resort Subdivision of Lac La Plonge; La Plonge Reserve; Northern Hamlet of Jans Bay; Resort Subdivision of Ramsey Bay; Patuanak/English River First Nation; Northern Village of Pinehouse; Canoe Lake Cree First Nation/Canoe Narrows; Resort Subdivision of Little Amyot Lake, as well as priority individuals from the Northern Village of Beauval; Northern Hamlet of Cole Bay; and, Île-à-la-Crosse.
The half-hour presentation touched on several key features of fire safety in the great outdoors. Although the youngsters were unsure who Smokey the Bear was, they were quick to offer some key points for safety around campfires, including keeping the fire small, ensuring there is some form of fire ring or containment, and having water on hand for extinguishing it. Cale added that people should also remember to clear all debris away from the immediate area before starting a fire, and that they should never try to ‘stomp out’ a fire because they could be injured in the process.
Smokey Bear, aka Smokey the Bear, first appeared in an ad campaign in August 1944, pouring a bucket of water on a campfire, saying, “Care will prevent 9 out of 10 fires.” Smokey’s fire prevention campaign holds the record as the longest-running ad campaign. His message was updated, after WWII, to “Remember … Only you can prevent forest fires!”
Smokey became more than just an advertisement one spring day in 1950, in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico, when an operator in one of the fire towers spotted smoke and called in the location to the nearest ranger station. The first crew discovered a major wildfire sweeping along the ground between the trees, driven by a strong wind. As the crew battled to contain the blaze, they received a report of a lone bear cub seen wandering near the fire line. They hoped that the mother bear would return for him.
Soon, about 30 of the firefighters were caught directly in the path of the firestorm. They survived by lying face down on a rockslide for over an hour as the fire burned past them. Nearby, the little cub had not fared as well. He took refuge in a tree that became completely charred, escaping with his life but also with badly burned paws and hind legs. The crew removed the cub from the tree, and a rancher among the crew agreed to take him home. A New Mexico Department of Game and Fish ranger heard about the cub and drove to the rancher’s home to help get the cub on a plane to Santa Fe, where his burns were treated and bandaged. The state game warden wrote to the chief of the Forest Service, offering to present the cub to the agency as long as the cub would be dedicated to a conservation and wildfire prevention publicity program. The cub was soon on his way to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., becoming the living symbol of Smokey Bear.
The Canadian Forestry Association adopted Smokey Bear in 1956, and soon he was sharing his message of fire prevention across this country by visiting classrooms and marching in parades.
By 1964, Smokey was receiving numerous gifts of honey and so many letters from children that he was given his own ZIP code. He remained at the National Zoo until he died in 1976, when he was returned to his home to be buried at the Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan, New Mexico, where he continues to be a wildfire prevention legend.
Saskatchewan no longer uses manned fire towers to watch for wildfires. Instead, northern forests are monitored for smoke by video cameras attached to the top of tall steel towers. Video feeds are then monitored by personnel in an office, safely out of the range of danger. Once smoke is detected, the cameras can zoom in to determine the cause and nature of the smoke and then dispatch the appropriate resources.
Smokey posed for a few pictures before heading off for his next engagement.
