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Firestorm 2003 Archive

Smokey Bear Statue Stolen During Wildfires

$200 Reward Offered For Information Leading To Statue's Recovery

POSTED: 8:03 am PST January 27, 2004
UPDATED: 8:21 am PST January 27, 2004

A Smokey Bear statue was stolen from a federal fire station just outside Jamul as firefighters battled the wildfires in October.

The statue was in front of the fire station housed at the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex and was discovered missing on Nov. 3, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released information about the theft Monday.

The Fiberglas statue of Smokey holding a shovel in one hand weighed about 100 pounds and stood between 5 feet and 6 feet tall. It was installed at the fire station a month before it disappeared and was one of 25 such statues in the country.

The statue is worth an estimated $3,000, but officials told the Union-Tribune that Smokey had more than just monetary value.

"Smokey the Bear is pretty much the universal symbol for fire prevention," Greg Hultman, coordinator of a fire prevention program at the fire station in Jamul, told the newspaper.

A $200 reward is being offered for information leading to the statue's recovery.

Anyone with information can call the refuge office at (619) 669-6651 or Hultman at (619) 719-8565.

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