Idaho Firewise

The Guberif Has Made a Comeback

2011-05-06T10:54:00.001-07:00

As of May 1st, the start of Wildfire Awareness Month, the Guberif is back! He is already making appearances around the state. You might see him on a billboard or poster. You may even see his name painted on a parking lot or roadway. Let us know if you spot him in Idaho!

A Lasting Impression

2010-09-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

Idaho Firewise is working with Drake Cooper marketing agency to develop a brochure that provides homeowners with recommendations that will assist them in making their homes and communities firewise. The idea is to keep it simple by providing only the most basic information that a homeowner would need to educate themselves on the steps they can take to prepare for the threat of wildland fire. More importantly, the brochure has to attract homeowners to read, remember, and use the information. It should leave a lasting impression on homeowners. Drake Cooper has come up with the following concepts:

Make Your Home Sweet Home a Firewise One.
Firewise. It's Really Common Sense.
10/4. (An infographic guide to creating a Firewise home in 10 Steps over 4 seasons.)

To see the designs that go along with these concepts click on the image above for a larger view. Or, click here and here. You will notice that there are two different designs for two of the concepts.

Keep in mind that the designs have not been finalized. They simply provide some general ideas to compliment the concepts.

Let us know which one is your favorite. If you don't have a favorite, just share your thoughts!

Bring Back the Guberif

2010-08-04T10:03:00.000-07:00

The Guberif (firebug spelled backwards) made his first appearance in Idaho back in 1945. Since then, he has started careless fires due to his care-free nature. He enjoys the outdoors, but he hasn't spent enough time with Smokey Bear to be educated on wildfires. You name the cause of a wildfire, and he is the culprit. He tosses his cigarettes on the ground, he lets his fires get out of control, he uses illegal fireworks--and those are just a few of his bad habits.

As part of the Keep Idaho Green campaign, Idaho Department of Lands painted "Don't You Be A Guberif" on highways and at rest stops and State Park parking lots. The Guberif also appeared in the media and on educational materials. He was very popular due to his name alone, but he was also very effective at bringing attention to the fire dangers that are present in Idaho.

The Guberif has been missing in action for nearly 10 years, but the threat of wildfire still exists. Keep Idaho Green and Idaho Firewise are considering bringing the Guberif back to life to help educate people on wildfire. Of course, the rebirth of the Guberif would not be complete without a makeover...a more modern and polished look (yet to be revealed!).

Let us know if you would like to see the Guberif make a new appearance in Idaho--Just click on the comments button below!

Smokey's Beginnings

2010-05-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

It was 60 years ago earlier this month that his dad brought home in a shoebox a tiny black bear cub that would become the incarnation of a national icon — but Donald Bell still remembers it vividly.

A typical 15-year-old, Donald wasn’t much impressed by the arrival of the injured bear at his Santa Fe home; his father, Ray Bell, was a game warden, and routinely brought home injured animals, got them medical care and found homes for them at area zoos.

It wasn’t until some photos of the bear, his blistered feet bandaged, made their way into newspapers across the country that little Hotfoot Teddy, as he had been named, caught the attention of the U.S. Forest Service and became Smokey Bear — the living symbol of the fire prevention mascot that debuted in 1944.