It’s Smokey Bear’s 75th birthday today! There’s no better place to celebrate than in the Boundary Waters. Just be sure to hang the leftover cake from a tree limb so his black bear friends don’t eat all of the frosting off of it.

Most of us are familiar with the current message Smokey sends but you can read about the history of the original bear online.  His message has been tweaked a little over the years but the point remains the same,  ‘Only you can prevent wild fires’.

While the fire danger is relatively low on the Gunflint side of the Boundary Waters it’s always important to make sure your fire is dead out. Most fires are caused by humans so use caution while enjoying a small campfire inside a fire ring in the BWCAW.