It’s August 9, and Smokey Bear turns 77 years old today. You’ve probably heard him say his famous line, “Only you can prevent forest fires,” but there is a lot more to Smokey Bear than just one sentence. The link in this blog contains information about his history as well as educational resources for students in our accredited middle school program. Students in our accredited high school program will benefit from other information on Smokey’s site. This information includes how to prevent forest fires and wildfires, how to fight wildfires, how to prepare your home in case a wildfire is nearby and much more. Even if you live in an area where wildfires aren’t prevalent, you can be affected by wildfires. Those of us who work at American School near Chicago have noticed smokier air in recent weeks because of wildfires burning in the western United States. Forest fires and wildfires do affect everyone, and Smokey Bear wants to you to be as safe as possible. Thank you for making us your distance education middle school or distance education high school, and thank you for doing your part to prevent forest fires and wildfires.