Brown bears that may have mistaken utility boxes for
trash cans caused at least $1,500 in damage to five new pedestals containing fiber-optic
lines near the Chilkoot River recently.
Bruce Messerschmidt, telephone manager for Alaska Power &
Telephone, said repair may cost as much as $10,000 if fiber has been damaged, but that
won’t be known until testing equipment arrives in town.
"We just shipped our fiber splicers out of here and the bears
decided to do their thing. We could (need to) pull up 2,000 feet of fiber," he said
Nov. 9. The lines were installed in late summer as part of a project bringing the
neighborhood its first grid-based electric and phone service.
The bears first struck Oct. 25 and 26, knocking down four residential
pedestals, the plastic posts where fiber-optic phone lines are spliced at the junction of
the main line and ones running to residences across Lutak bridge.
Two days later, the bear or bears returned, tearing tops off pedestals,
Messerschmidt said. "There were bear tracks on top, where they were stomping on top
of it, and paw marks on the ground."
On Oct. 30, a larger, metal pedestal on the town side of the bridge was
folded over to the ground. Messerschmidt said unlike the smaller, residential boxes, the
pedestal was stout and would have tended to "push back," perhaps provoking a
more aggressive response.
Messerschmidt, who has done utility work in Kodiak and the Alaska
Interior, said he was surprised by the damage.
"This is the first time this has ever happened to me. Usually
it’s people shooting up our pedestals that are an issue… I don’t know if
(bears) think (boxes) are a garbage can or what. Next time we’re going to throw out
rawhide bones."
The bear damage has been an aggravation but connection of Lutak phone
service has been delayed mostly for connection and testing at the town side of the line,
Messerschmidt said. "We’re still shooting for some kind of service by the end of
the year."
Most Lutak electric customers were hooked up to service by the end of
September, said Danny Gonce, AP&T’s power supervisor.
