Kodiak bear safety group tells trick-or-treaters to finish by 8 pm and carry air horns

Kodiak trick-or-treaters should finish by 8 pm Saturday and carry a flashlight and an air horn to scare off a bear if one is seen, the Kodiak Interagency Bear Safety Group said in Halloween guidance the Kodiak Police Department posted Thursday.

The group said bears have already been looking for treats "in inappropriate places" around town. It said these town bears have not acted aggressively toward people but will defend themselves if surprised or cornered.

The group's other advice:

Go trick-or-treating as early as possible. Parents should walk with young children. Older kids should stay in groups, and everyone should make noise.

Never walk through wooded or brushy areas, where the group said bears sleep and feel secure. Stay away from dumpsters after dark.

Anyone who sees a bear should tell the people nearby and walk away, not run, then call Kodiak police at 486-8000 to report where the bear is. In an emergency, call 911.

The Kodiak Chamber of Commerce gives similar advice for its downtown trick-or-treat Friday afternoon: stay together, carry a flashlight, make noise, avoid garbage areas and report bears to police.

Bears keep getting into the borough landfill, even though every residential garbage customer in Kodiak gets a bear-resistant cart. A state inspection found the landfill out of compliance with state rules because bears kept reaching the trash.

In early October, a resident told the borough assembly that a brown bear pressed its paws against his family's front door. On Nov. 5, the assembly will vote on hiring a contractor to haze bears away from the landfill overnight, at a cost of up to $250,000 for the first two months.