One or more bears broke into Luck Dunbar’s storage containers twice this week. Dunbar said his insurance will cover the damage but that he owes thousands of dollars for the deductible that must be paid for each incident.
Gunfire rattled Small Tracts Road residents Monday afternoon as law enforcement killed four bears, according to area residents. It’s unclear how many of the bears were responsible for nearby property damage.
Haines Borough police chief Heath Scott declined to comment other than to say that officers assisted the Alaska State Troopers and questions needed to be directed to that agency. Troopers have not responded to questions about the incident.
Nearby residents reported roughly two dozen shots fired. Tracy Mikowski was picking mushrooms in her backyard when she heard gun shots.
“All the sudden gunfire broke out. Heavy gunfire,” Mikowski said. “After a bunch of shots, I saw a bear walking through the woods. I saw two armed people walking after him. Then the shots kept coming. There were dozens of shots. I lost count.”
Another neighbor said that a bear with an obvious head wound ran through her yard amid the shooting.
“He was good enough to run, but it’s head was definitely red. It was definitely injured. I’m guessing the bullet glanced off his head. It just broke my heart. He was terrified,” said the neighbor who asked to remain anonymous.
The police issued a Nixle alert that afternoon warning area residents of an injured bear in the area. Susie McCartney said she was walking her dog with her mother in the area when other residents warned her that an injured bear was in the area.
Since spring, law enforcement officers have killed 10 bears and many residents have reported significant property damage. Luck Dunbar owns a storage facility on Small Tracts Road. Bears tore off doors and damaged eight storage units twice this week, resulting in thousands of dollars in damage, Dunbar said.
“They completely demolished eight garage units and then pushed in my boat garage,” Dunbar said. “They tore off my siding, tried to push the walls in.”
Dunbar said one of the storage units that was destroyed during the first encounter had canned sardines and tuna. He said he plans to ensure renters know they shouldn’t store food in the units. Six units were damaged the first night. The animals returned and broke two more units two days later.
“I take a little bit of responsibility for that, but there’s a real problem with these bears this year,” Dunbar said. “I’ve never felt like killing a bear is a solution until just recently. They’re repeat offenders. We need to be more responsible to coexist with these bears and keep away the attractants. It’s a hell of a sh*t show out there.”
Scott said the officer at the scene did not observe any bear attractants at the storage units.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist Carl Koch said he couldn’t comment on the specifics of what occurred Monday, but said other communities in Southeast are experiencing bear activity. He said Juneau law enforcement officers have killed nine bears so far this year and have received hundreds of calls. In Petersburg, law enforcement hazed bears with rubber bullets and said they are prepared to kill the animals should they begin to cause threats to life and property, according to the Petersburg Pilot.
Koch said in general, Haines residents are leaving out bear attractants. “One thing that I’m seeing a lot in Haines is sheds and vehicles with food and trash in them are getting damaged,” Koch said. “I recommend people clean out vehicles and secure sheds with an electric fence if they contain any food or garbage, even if it’s sealed in an airtight container.”
Police have issued two citations to residents since spring for creating a nuisance by leaving out attractants, according to court records.
Fish and Game biologist Anthony Crupi is in Haines this week conducting field work. He’s been studying the brown bear population as part of a six-year project. He said one of the bears that was killed was an 8-year-old collared female with a yearling cub.
“To my knowledge she does not have a history of problem behavior. Two weeks ago, she was at Glacier Point and we just today located her collar which released at her den site near Sullivan Island,” Crupi told the CVN Tuesday.
Crupi said the townsite is within her range and that “unsecured attractants here appear to have been readily available.”
“We have been seeing salmon, berries, and grass in the scat of bears we have marked this week,” Crupi said when asked if bears are seeking food in town because of low salmon runs. “Body condition of those animals was good. Given the late runs and berry production they were as I would expect.”
Although Scott said he wouldn’t comment on Monday’s incident, police in general are seeing “extremely unusual behavior recently related to bears entering facilities as well as a single incident in which a homeowner was charged while working in the garden.”