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UNITED STATES — Happy 81st birthday, Smokey Bear! The spokesbear made his debut in 1944, making the Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign the longest-running public service advertising campaign in U.S. history.

Two seemingly unrelated events led to the creation of Smokey: WWII and Disney’s “Bambi” (1942).

Forest protection became a national priority after Japanese submarines nearly ignited Los Padres National Forest in California, according to Smokey’s website. The Forest Service created the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention program with the War Adv

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