Many people know Smokey the Bear; he’s the anthropomorphic bear with a campaign hat and jeans. The Greeks may call him featherless and bipedal, so basically human! You might know him as the one with the caption, “Remember… Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires!” which was later changed in 2001 to say “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires”, a very purposeful change, despite how little it seems. 

It was a nice sentiment, but there’s a deeper truth to these words and it is harming our planet. Since August 9th of 1944, people have been stressed to make sure forest fires don’t happen under any circumstances. There has been a push back against something called controlled burns, which are actually made to prevent future forest fires. Controlled burns are conducted by foresters and environmental scientists, who contain areas of land and light fires that break apart the leftover wood on the ground, causing less problems in the future. These controlled burns are then put out after and it helps new plants grow and supports ecosystems.  This means that Smokey, or rather the people who enforce Smokey’s words, have been causing even more and more dangerous forest fires.

Fire needs three elements to work– Heat, fuel and oxygen. Now, when controlled fires do not happen the trees in wooded areas die. Languishing on the forest floor, the trees are not destroyed and do not turn into soil. Instead, they pile up, leaving more and more trees dead. This creates more fuel for fire.

Soon enough, the heat of hot summer days causes more fires to spark. Since there is more fuel on the ground, these fires will simply grow and become unmanageable, destroying homes and land that might never grow back properly.

Now, this isn’t saying you should start lighting fires in forests. Specialized planned operations are set into place when necessary, and you should never attempt a “homemade specialized burn”. Trying this will only add to the issue, and instead you can help by supporting knowledgeable sources about the effects of forest fires and fire safety in the wilderness.Trying this will only add to the issue, and instead you can help by supporting knowledgeable sources about the effects of forest fires and fire safety in the wilderness. This also isn’t to say you shouldn’t follow fire safety rules. Fire safety keeps wildlife and other people safe, so don’t discredit it simply because it spreads misinformation about certain aspects of wildfires. There are many fire safety websites you can visit for more information on the matter.