Fort Providence (Jun 02/06) - A black bear caused a great deal of excitement in Fort Providence May 24.

Around 9:30 p.m., a young bear was spotted in the yard of the health centre, Evelyn Krutko, a renewable resources officer, said.

When Krutko arrived at the scene, close to half the town was already out watching the bear, she said."I think he was more startled than anything," Krutko said.

Krutko used bear bangers to encourage the bear to leave. The first blast sent the bear scurrying two feet up a hydro pole before coming back down. It then headed behind the church towards a second pole before another shot moved it towards the snye and the west side of town, Krutko said. "The whole town was out by then," she said.

Krutko said the bear was gone by the time she went to look for it by the snye. She set a bear trap, but it has not been back.

Bears are not a common occurrence inside the community.

In her 21 years of experience, Krutko said this is only the third time a bear has come this close to Fort Providence.

The community is clean so there is not much to attract bears, she said. This was the first time a bear has been sighted while so many people were out. The other cases happened at 6 or 7 a.m. before most people are up, Krutko said.

The bear provided entertainment for many people.

Marlene Squirrel, who has a house on the edge of the field where the bear was spotted, said she heard loud bangs that sounded like the noises used to frighten buffalo. Looking out a window towards the Lady of Providence church, Squirrel said she realized the black creature in the field was a bear not a buffalo.

While she watched, the bear tried to climb the hydro pole near the church. It then ran towards her house and headed for another nearby pole. It put one paw on the pole and looked backwards, she said.

The bear finally headed out of sight behind the house of Janet Yakinneah.

"I was excited. I was running around looking at it," said Squirrel, who has never seen a bear that close to the community.

Christopher Carson saw the bear's escape out of the community.

Carson was watching CSI on television with Mary Baptiste around 9:30 p.m. when they heard a loud bang. After a hearing a few more loud noises, Carson looked outside to see the bear running across a field and the road towards the trees by the snye. "It was quite exciting," Carson said.

Because the bear escaped into an area near his house, Carson said he would be more cautious for awhile and check before sending his children outside.

Krutko, who has been teaching bear safety to classes at Deh Gah school for the past week, is encouraging people to keep the community clean.

She is also asking people to clean their camps and bring garbage back to town for disposal.

"Cleanliness is always a good thing," Krutko said.