Smokey Bear, the famous mascot of the U.S. Forest Service, just turned 75 years-old.

Smokey Bear was “born” on August 9, 1944, when the Forest Service and Ad Council came together to create a fictional character to promote fire prevention safety and awareness. As World War II ranged on, officials were afraid that America’s expansive forests would become a target for foreign enemies.

“The Forest Service wanted, you know, something strong,” explained Wendy Melillo, a professor at American University. “But it wanted it animated to be appealing … to children and families. And so the first Smokey is a really sweet looking bear with a pair of jeans on and he’s holding a bucket of water and he’s pouring it over the campfire.”

Over the decades, Smokey has been illustrated in many different ways, and his playful personality has earned him fans from all over the place. He became so popular at one point that he even had his own zip code so that fans could send letters, with “the occasional pot of honey” finding its way into the mail.

The big 75th birthday for our friend @smokey_bear is next week. If you’re looking for any last minute gift ideas, I’ve got one: never leave your campfire unattended & make sure it’s deadout before leaving. I know he’ll love it! pic.twitter.com/pXu7wj8N1m

— Forest Service NW (@ForestServiceNW) August 2, 2019

On Smokey’s birthday this month, parties were thrown for him in Gila National Forest and Wingfield Park in New Mexico, Reading, Pennsylvania, Entiat, Washington and more. Smokey himself even took to social media to celebrate.

My biggest fans will love this history of my wildfire prevention campaign. We’ve shared a lot of history over these last 75 years, and I’m counting on #OnlyYou to help me keep the message going for 75 more. #SmokeyBear75 via @ForestHistoryhttps://t.co/E4qfxxwF5P pic.twitter.com/43E0Ha9u9x

— Smokey Bear (@smokey_bear) August 3, 2019

Happy birthday, Smokey!