Closure of B.C. campgrounds due to 'problem bear' extended through weekend
Multiple campgrounds that were closed in a B.C. park due a food-habituated bear last week will remain closed through the weekend.
In an update this week, BC Parks and the BC Conservation Officer Service said the three campgrounds in Garibaldi Provincial Park that were closed because of reports of a problem bear at Cheakamus Lake will remain shut down.
The closure impacts Cheakamus Lake, Singing Creek and Helm Creek campgrounds, as well as the day-use access to the Cheakamus Lake trailhead.
Initially, officials hoped the park would be able to fully reopen earlier this week, but that closure had to be extended because the bear hasn't been caught.
"Based on the behaviour of the bear, it is believed to be the same bear that was exhibiting food habituation and aggression last year," a statement on the Garibaldi Park website says.
The closure first took effect at 4 p.m. on June 18, with park rangers evacuating visitors from the Cheakamus Lake area by that time.
Now, areas aren't expected to reopen until at least next Wednesday, though officials warn the closure could once again be extended "if the bear is not caught within this closure timeframe."
It's not the first time a provincial park in the Lower Mainland was closed because of a bear recently. Earlier this month, the 62,500-hectare Golden Ears Park was fully closed so conservation officers could search for a "problematic" black bear.
That closure was initially scheduled to last three days, but the park ended up reopening sooner than planned after conservation officers captured and killed the animal.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.