Smokey the Bear: A Forest of Flames.

The End is only the Beginning.

Two days later, two men walked through the forest in yellow fireman hats. Each had a clip board and pen in hand, along with a GPS, walkie-talkie, portable mini extinguisher, and small first aid kit in their backpacks.  They wore hardened rubber boots and flame retardant clothing. They were surveying the damage done by the fire that had been put out by hours of work from firefighters and volunteers.  One of them spotted something odd and strode quickly towards it.   

"Jack, come take a look at this," he said as he knelt down by what he had spotted. He used the end of the clip board to brush away fallen ash and debris.

The other man sighed, "A bear. The first I've seen claimed by a blaze."

He wrinkled his nose at the smell when he accidently removed the burnt surface layer of flesh, "Poor thing, you can still see his expression when he was killed." He almost threw up, his eyes watered in pity. "This, this is just tragic."

The other man knelt next to him and looked the bear over, he then looked beneath its chin and stuck his hand out to grab something. Picking it up and holding it in the still smoky air he spoke, "It's a wireless transmitter. A radio collar. Well, Alex, this is definitely worthy of being written down in the 'observations' section." He showed him it.

"We'll take it back with us, give it over to its owner."

"If it can be tracked, that is. This thing's half melted." he showed him once more then slid his pack off and put it in.

"It should be built like a airplane black box, Jack, it'll be traceable."

He nodded and stood up, the other man stood too and with a final glance they walked off, Alex placed the location of the body into the GPS so Smokey could be taken care of.  Three days later, a group of scientists claimed the box belonged to one of their bears whom they'd been tracking for a few years. They also took the location of his body and went out with shovels to give him a proper burial. One had brought along a plastic Cross with flowers in it and, using a black permanent marker, wrote a name onto the top, 'Smokey' . The bear wasn't given a name before then.

A month later, a couple jogging through the forest came along the grave site and stopped, one of the scientists had come back out and wrote what had happened to the bear. The couple cried together when they tried to imagine what it was like for poor Smokey to have gone through this. Upon returning home, the man wrote down an idea. He was a environmentalist and was looking for a character to create to be the spokesperson on signs and, if it took off, commercials about  protecting the environment.

The bear named Smokey fit in perfectly to part of his idea and three weeks later Smokey the Bear with his slogan of 'Only you can prevent Wildfires' came to life. This character wasn't what he had hoped for as an all subjects kind of icon, but he fit in perfectly for wilderness protection/safety.

Years later he was still going strong, his story and meaning living on forever in the minds and hearts of those who hear it. He spread across America on billboards and park signs, TV commercials and printed publishings.  He was taught to students in grade-school and at camps. Although he died tragically, he still lived on as a hero forever.

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This isn't the true story of Smokey the Bear, this is just a different representation of what had happened. He was a real bear who was burned severly in a wild fire that nearly claimed several human lives. What is real about this story, though, is parts 1 - 4. Tragically, wildfires get worse yearly do to human interventions and causes. Animals die just like Smokey did, their pain most of us will thankfully never know. So terrible that it cannot be imagined. The best thing you can do, though, is to not let fires start. And if they do put them out. Only Natural wildfires do to droughts and lightning strikes are good for the environment.  They create nutrient rich soils, help seeds sprout, and prevent crown fires like the one in the story from taking place. Crown fires consume everything where as Natural brush fires are ground-level only and most animals can escape them.

This story goes out to all the animals that are victims of Wildfires. May they be remembered even though we never knew them. May they rest in peace and comfort forever.

Fire isn't something to play around with, it's a danger to all. It spreads with un-imaginable speed and is so incredibly painfull. Fire is a destructive power that becomes out of control easily. Be sure to follow Smokey's advice when in the forest. Put out all flames and make sure they're out when you are going to leave them un-attended. Don't play with fire, and don't start them with intent to destroy. I hope you enjoyed this reading.