TAMPA - A man is under arrest for stealing Smokey Bear signs from across Florida.

The backstory:

"Smokey is always around our forest and just got lucky today that he saw the bad guy and got him handcuffed," said Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson. "What an idiot, what an idiot."

Law enforcement officers with the Department of Agriculture say the suspect was posting the signs for sale on Facebook marketplace for $1,900 apiece.

"(Smokey) goes to schools, he's known by our children, he's known by our families, he is known throughout the United States," said Simpson. "Who goes and steals an image of Smokey the Bear and then tries to profit off of that?"

Dig deeper:

The thefts shed a spotlight on the state's effort to prevent forest fires, which destroyed 24,000 acres in 2024.

The

See Full Page