Smokey Bear turns 75 this year — and he’s getting a face-lift.

The Kootenai County Fire Prevention Co-Op recently received $1,500 from the Idaho Fire Chiefs to replace its aging Smokey Bear costume.

Smokey travels throughout the county each year, visiting every first-grade class, marching in parades and appearing at events. After a decade of use, the costume is worn, with holes in the paws and a misshapen body.

“He’s the face of our prevention efforts,” co-op president Craig Etherton said. “It’s going to be great for our main spokesperson to look good, not matted and old.”

Supplied by a niche, California-based company called Smokey’s Signals, Etherton said the costume had been back-ordered until March.

“I guess everybody’s replacing their Smokey for the 75th anniversary,” he said.

The Idaho Fire Chiefs received $110,000 in total requests this year and awarded $62,000 toward requests in fire prevention and training.

The grant is funded by the Idaho Firefighters License Plate Fund program.

“When you’re driving behind someone who has the speciality firefighter plates on their car, a portion of the registration fee that person paid went into this fund,” Etherton said. “It’s gone a long way to make a lot of communities safer.”

Comprised of all fire departments in the county, the Kootenai County Fire Prevention Co-Op works to educate the community about safety and prevention.

“It’s all well and good to put the fire out,” Etherton said. “But if we can prevent the fires in the first place, we can prevent loss of life and property.”

That’s where Smokey comes in. From first-graders to adults, most people recognize Smokey and know what he’s working to do: prevent forest fires. The iconic bear is a big part of the co-op’s efforts, both in and out of schools.

Etherton noted that it was hard to hide the volunteer inside the Smokey costume when the body is visible through holes, which is especially important during classroom visits — kids, of course, are extraordinarily observant. But the new costume will let them focus on the lesson instead of the costume.

“Things are going well for Smokey this year,” Etherton said. “He’s doing his job.”