Skyland Fire - Bear Country
Incident: Skyland Wildland Fire
Released: 8/13/2007
- August 13, 2007 11:00 a.m. MT - The Pacific Northwest Team 3 has been stressing awareness that we are fighting fire and camping in prime bear habitat, where both grizzly and black bears have roamed freely for thousands of years. Although they have access to berries, bugs and the occasional unfortunate ungulate, bears are opportunists and will investigate anything their very sensitive noses find interesting.
To keep both the bears and the firefighters safe on the Skyland Fire, we are following food sanitation guidelines on the fireline and in fire camp. "The thought of a bear nosing around your tent may be scary," said Kim Smolt, Information Officer "but it would likely be fatal to the bear." Bears that become accustomed to human food and interaction commonly end up having to be destroyed. A fed bear is a dead bear.
There is no doubt about whose neighborhood we are visiting. The photo attached under "Related Article Links", at right, was taken yesterday a short distance from the perimeter of the Skyland Fire.
This Fire Update was produced by the Skyland Fire Information Center staffed by PNW Team 3 Incident Management Team.
