`K.D.' Flock, Creator Of Smokey Bear, Dies

BOISE - The "father" of Smokey Bear, who warns children against forest fires, died Wednesday, Dec. 27, in Boise.

Kester "K.D." Flock, 94, pushed to make Smokey Bear a symbol of forest-fire safety in the 1940s.

Flock pressed the U.S. Forest Service to use a live bear as a symbol of forest-fire prevention.

The real Smokey Bear was a cub hurt in a forest fire in New Mexico, where Flock was stationed as a national-forest supervisor. Flock told officials the bear cub would be a more realistic teaching tool than the cartoon bear previously used to teach children about fire safety.

Flock's mission to educate children about fire safety did not stop after he retired as supervisor at the Boise National Forest in 1958. He continued to talk to children about safety at many Boise schools.

Flock was born in Grangeville, attended the University of Idaho and graduated from the University of Montana with a degree in forestry. He received a master's degree in public administration from American University in Washington, D.C.