Smokey Bear turns 80 this year. Did he help prevent forest fires?

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Smokey the bear cub is flown from Santa Fe, N.M., to his new home at the Washington National Zoo in a Piper J-3 Cub by New Mexico Assistant State Game Warden Homer C. Pickens in 1950. The little bear was rescued from a forest fire and named Smokey after the fire prevention symbol of the U.S. Forest Service.

The longest-running U.S. public service ad turns 80 today. We’re taking a look back at Smokey Bear’s origin and the evolution of his message.

(Image credit: FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The longest-running U.S. public service ad turns 80 today. We’re taking a look back at Smokey Bear’s origin and the evolution of his message.