May 11, 2022
It’s amazing what a little paint and a lot of dedication can do.
Thanks to the artistic talents of Raylyn – a 6th grader at Port Susan Middle School – Smokey Bear is back, brightening the side of the road along SR 532 again.
And we do mean literally. He’s *SO* much more colorful.
Raylyn, along with her brother Brody and grandma Debbie, started out on Jan. 25 by scrubbing all the road dirt and grime off of Smokey. Next Raylyn had to select just the right paint colors (spoiler alert: they’re perfect) to make Smokey look like himself. After priming and outlining, Raylyn began painting. And painting. And painting.
It took a little more than two months to transform Smokey from flat and faded to bright and bold.
Now that Smokey has not one by three coats of protective sealant, he’s back at his traditional post, reminding us that ONLY YOU can prevent wildfires.