For 54 years, the most famous forest denizen this side of Bambi has warned that “only you can prevent forest fires.” As of Monday, however, “forest fires” became “wild fires” as the U.S. Forest Service unveiled a new commercial to broaden awareness that fires destroy grasslands and other types of vegetation besides trees.

Actually, this is just the latest in a string of changes Smokey has gone through since his debut during World War II. He lost his sharp claws and got blunter teeth. He began wearing shorter fur and lost the hump on his neck. He grew fingers so that he could hold a shovel and dump buckets of water. Finally, because someone thought he looked too “naked,” they put the bear in dungarees (thankfully, he hasn’t been in a “Guess” ad).

One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the need for the message. While the revised ads were being unveiled, firefighters in North Carolina were struggling to contain a blaze that charred more than 2,000 acres in McDowell and Rutherford counties. Investigators hadn’t determined how the blaze started. But with drought conditions persisting in mountainous areas of the state, firefighters may face a particularly grim time of it as we enter another spring fire season.