Smokey Bear Comes to Georgia
On April 24, the Caucasus Conservation Corps (CCC) hosted the US Forest Service’s most famous ambassador, Smokey Bear, who traveled all the way from the United States to celebrate his 80th birthday by traveling around Georgia and continuing his mission of teaching people around the world about wildfire prevention.
The TCT has partnered with the US Forest Service since 2020, and they have provided much support and guidance as we’ve built and expanded the CCC program.
Smokey joined USFS, US embassy, and TCT staff members and Peace Corps volunteers, who brought their high school students from Sachkhere and Surami to meet Smokey, on the TCT at the CCC field camp near Borjomi, Georgia. Crews have worked diligently over the past two years to clear and open that section of the TCT, and the CCC crew was doing some routine maintenance at the time of Smokey’s visit.
During his visit, Smokey highlighted the importance of fire safety, while CCC leaders and USFS staff taught the students how to build a campfire and safely extinguish it. Borjomi has been subject to devastating wildfires in the past, so wildfire prevention is quite relevant in the area.
Building a Campfire
After receiving instruction on various methods of building a successful campfire, the students broke into groups to practice building a campfire using one of three different methods. Remember, every fire should have a ring of stones around it to prevent the fire from spreading!
Extinguishing a Campfire
After the students had built their fires, we lit the fire in the fire-pit to give students practical experience extinguishing it completely (it took a little more time than expected!). Smokey had some help from the USFS’s Kerry Greene to teach the students how to safely extinguish the fire. The three essential steps are:
- Drown. Pour lots of water over the fire.
- Stir. Mix the coals, soaking them all.
- Feel. Put your hand over the fire—don’t touch the coals!—to determine if the fire is cool. If it isn’t, pour more water and repeat the process.
After the lesson on fire safety, photo ops with Smokey, lunch, and a tent set-up tutorial, everyone embarked on a short hike to a scenic overlook. The students enjoyed getting up and active while exploring a bit of their local environment, and the adults appreciated having the time to spend in nature. Overall, it was a day full of education, exploration, and fun. We hope Smokey enjoyed his visit to the TCT, and we invite you to join us in promoting his lessons on safety and wildfire prevention.
Remember, only YOU can prevent wildfires!
