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Betty White: ‘Don’t be responsible for sending our firefighters into danger’

Videos: The beloved actress also was an honorary forest ranger who encouraged wildfire prevention

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Betty White became an honorary forest ranger in 2010.

Photo/Smokey Bear

By Leila Merrill

You may remember Betty White from her long career as an actress on TV shows such as “The Golden Girls,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and many other movies and shows, but she also appeared in public service announcements to help prevent forest fires.

White died on Friday, New Year’s Eve, at age 99. She would have turned 100 on Jan. 17.

White had wanted to join the U.S. Forest Service, but women were not allowed to in the early 1940s, when she graduated from high school, People magazine reported.

https://twitter.com/smokey_bear/status/1477012976632688640

In 2010, she became an honorary forest ranger. She got a badge, a ranger’s hat, and a hug from Smokey Bear.

The honorary ranger and long-time animal welfare activist went on to create public service announcements to help Smokey’s cause, preventing wildfires.

White offered useful tips and encouraged people to protect wildlands and firefighters.

“Don’t be responsible for sending our firefighters into danger,” White said to viewers.

Here is a look back at two of her public service announcements and the ceremony in which White became an honorary ranger.

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