As a child, the image of Smokey the Bear teaching you about fire prevention is one that lasts a lifetime, as the lovable character made a great impact in spreading the word on fire safety. In this day and age, the rules and regulations pertaining to forest fires have changed. Today, in some parts of the United States, the start of small-scale forest fires are now actually considered a good thing within certain circles, who use the practice as a means of preventing large-scale forest fires. Nonetheless, the damaging effects that come from human-generated forest fires are still a grave problem and with proper prevention techniques, these types of unintentional fires can be prevented.