“Smokey is Within” challenges people to channel their inner Smokey the Bear

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) - One of the nation’s most memorable wildfire prevention initiatives has recently launched a new campaign.

The Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign has released the newest phase of its mission called “Smokey Is Within.” This phase aims to remind the public that when they practice fire safety tips, they channel their inner Smokey to prevent human-caused wildfires.

With the extremely dry conditions in some of our viewing areas, learning and following these tips could really make a difference.

“They do include things like knowing your restrictions, whether you’re camping, or you’re working at home, or and knowing the regulations that surround those types of outdoor fires. But then it’s also really important to be prepared that if you can have a fire to extinguish it and extinguish it properly. So, we always say that Smokey’s two main tools are a water bucket and a shovel, and we teach the drown, stir, drown, feel method for extinguishing our outdoor fires,” said Maureen Brooks, Branch Chief of Wildfire Prevention and Community Mitigation.

The National Interagency Coordination Center said Mississippi had a total of 1,977 fires caused by people in 2022.

The state of Alabama had a total of 1,916 fires attributed to people in 2022, so following these fire prevention tips is essential.

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