USPS copes with Southern California fires.

With hundreds of homes destroyed and thousands of people displaced throughout Southern California, mail delivery has been interrupted or curtailed as wild fires swept throughout the region. According to the USPS more than 60 post offices have been evacuated.

Smokey Bear is a fictional character whose job is to protect America's forests.

Since its inception, Smokey's forest fire prevention campaign has reduced the area lost annually from 22 million to 4 million acres (89,000 to 16,000 km)

Smokey Bear's message "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires" was created in 1944. In April 2001, Smokey's message was updated to "Only You Can Prevent Wildfires."

In 1984, Smokey Bear' s 40th birthday was commemorated with the special stamp shown above. He was the first individual animal to ever be honored on a United States postage stamp.

To learn more on how you can prevent forest and wild fires, click here.