Firefighter In British Columbia Attacked By Grizzly Bear On Wildfire.

Fended the bear off with a Pulaski before crewmembers arrived with a chainsaw.

This is one of the craziest stories I’ve heard in a while when it comes to animal encounters on wildfires. There are stories about firefighters in Alaska running off moose in their camps with chainsaws, snakes biting firefighters, scorpions stinging crewmembers in their sleeping bags, ants crawling into the ears of sawyers, but this one might take the cake.

It’s something I think most wildland firefighters have at least thought about, and others have definitely discussed exactly what they would do if some sort of predatory animal came at them while hiking through the woods. The earliest time I can remember thinking about it was during one of my first PT hikes with the crew in Montana, when we saw a mountain lion up on a cliff as we descended through a drainage.

One firefighter said they would take their combi-tool spike and take a swing, truly believing they could hit the one-in-a-million shot in the most tense moment of their life. Others said they would pop a fusee and jam it in the eye of an attacking predator, not realizing this would mean they are face-to-face with their hand extended towards the predator's mouth in this scenario.

Then there are the folks who say they would use their chainsaw to fend off an attacking animal, probably the most useful tool in a scenario like this, but a time-consuming effort if it’s sheathed or not currently in use.

But what happens if you are flown in and dropped off on a fire to patrol some remote fireline, and you are alone, 100 meters out in front of the squad when you encounter a momma grizzly bear and cubs, and the attack is instantaneous?

What would you do if all you had was a hand tool?

That’s what occurred up in British Columbia just days ago on July 4th, and here’s how the firefighter survived with only his Pulaski…

This is from the internal report in B.C.

The squad flew into the helipad with the daily objective of patrolling and mopping up the fire’s edge, which was a very spotty burn perimeter. They gathered up for a quick briefing before the crew lead broke off from the main group to go scout ahead and get a better look at the ground they would be covering.

The crew lead started to work side slope through the fire area, and he immediately came face to face with a momma grizzly bear and two of her cubs. Not a very good situation to be in, especially if everyone involved was caught off guard.

Within just seconds, the grizzly bear charged the crew lead, swiping at his legs with her claws. Even though the bear made contact with the firefighter's legs, he was able to remain standing long enough for him to take two swings with his paws before the bear knocked him to the ground.

All this happened within seconds.

Once on the ground and with the grizzly bear on top of him, the firefighter was able to get the handle of his Pulaski into the mouth of the grizzly bear, keeping it from clamping down with its powerful jaws.

This move is what ultimately saved him from very severe injuries or even death.

Upon hearing the screams of their crew lead, the others in the squad, who were approximately 100 meters away, ran to the scene to discover a grizzly bear on top of their supervisor, who was fighting the bear with a pulaski handle in her mouth.

The squad fired up their chainsaws and revved them, screaming at the same time, which was enough to get the bear to disengage and run away from the scene. First aid was immediately initiated, and the crew requested an emergency evacuation from the Prince George Fire Center.

The crew lead was airlifted to Fort Nelson, transported to a hospital, and was later discharged with scrapes and bite injuries to the legs and hand. The hand injury was the most severe as the bear tore into the firefighter's hand, as he fought to keep the pulaski handle inside the grizzly’s mouth to hold back the biting attempts.

Just a crazy story out of Canada, and this firefighter is very lucky to be alive. But his quick thinking and the sturdiness of their pulsaki handle likely saved him.

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