Closure of B.C. campgrounds due to 'problem bear' extended through weekend

Cheakamus Lake in Garibaldi Provincial Park is shown. (Shutterstock)

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.