‘Such a traumatic event’: B.C. community still reeling from grizzly attack

As the hours pass, the shock of a vicious grizzly attack on a group of schoolchildren and teachers in Bella Coola, B.C., remains.

The hunt continues for a grizzly bear that badly injured four people in a sudden and vicious attack on a school group on B.C.’s Central Coast Thursday afternoon.

Bella Coola residents CTV News spoke to on Friday and Saturday said they were still in shock from the news.

“My heart and my strength go out to them,” said resident Jefferson Bray Saturday, referring to the students and teachers from the independent Acwsalcta School—run by the Nuxalk Nation—who were stopped for lunch on a trail near Highway 20 when the bear attacked.

Three children and one adult were flown to hospitals in the Lower Mainland after the incident. Paramedics said two of the victims were critically injured and two were seriously hurt. Seven others were treated at the scene.

One of those in hospital is Rosanne Mack’s granddaughter Julianna, who had surgery on Friday.

“I am worried about my granddaughter,” Mack said. “She has a fractured shoulder, fractured elbow and a fractured ankle. Ankle and arm will have to have pins put in them.”

A long road to recovery is ahead, and Bella Coola residents said both physical and emotional scars will remain from the ordeal.

“We don’t want anyone to go through this alone,” said Kirsten Milton, deputy chief of the Nuxalk Nation, which has been working with Vancouver Coastal Health, the First Nations Health Authority and the Indian Residential School Survivors Society to ensure counselling and other services are available.

“It was just such a traumatic event that involved so many people and a lot of other agencies that had to come in to support,” Milton said.

‘A fluid and dangerous situation’

The B.C. Conservation Officer Service says traps have been set up and cameras installed in an effort to locate the bear.

In an update on social media Saturday, the service said witnesses reported two additional grizzly bears in the area during the attack.

“Trapping efforts to capture and assess all three bears are ongoing,” the BCCOS said in its post.

“The investigation includes the collection of any forensic evidence that can be used to identify bears involved.”

Additional conservation officers were arriving in Bella Coola on Saturday, and the RCMP Air 3 helicopter, which has thermal imaging capability, was flown in to assist with search efforts.

The service advised people to avoid the 4 Mile area where the attack occurred and not go out searching for the bears themselves.

“We can appreciate people want to be involved, but this is a fluid and dangerous situation,” said Insp. Kevin Van Damme, in the post.

“For the safety of residents and our officers, please avoid the area and allow them space to do their work.”

Conservation officers say no decision has been made on whether to euthanize the bears if they are caught. The goal is to get the animals to act naturally, something that they’re more likely to do if people stay out of the area.

Despite the trauma of the last few days, Bray said he hopes the bears will not be killed.

“This was like a lightning strike,” he said. “It’s not a time to lock and load and start shooting at the sky.”

At a news conference Saturday afternoon, BCCOS Sgt. Jeff Tyre elaborated on the three bears believed to be present at the time of the attack, describing them as “likely a sow and two cubs.”

So far, the BCCOS has not captured any bears, Tyre said, adding that there are “a lot” of bears in the region.

“Any bears that are captured that we can rule out—that are not part of the incident—will likely be relocated,” he said, declining to speculate on what would happen to the sow and cubs who were involved in the attack if they are caught and their identities are confirmed.

“Speaking from experience, this is probably the most dangerous thing that conservation officers do, especially dealing with family units, with sows,” Tyre said.

‘It’s going to be a long road’

Elected Nuxalk Nation Chief Samuel Schooner also spoke at Saturday’s news conference, reiterating his request for reporters to respect the privacy of the victims.

“They’re really hurting,” he said. “I just respectfully ask that we not go there.”

Schooner also provided a general update on the condition of those in hospital, saying there have been “improvements, but it’s going to be a long road to recovery.”

“The nation’s just standing behind them,” he said. “They’re in our thoughts and prayers. And again, I want to thank the community as a whole: paramedics, conservation officers, RCMP, our staff, our guardian watchmen, our hospital and everybody that reached out to the nation. It means so much to the people.”

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Kraig Krause