Officials Close Trail After Grizzly Encounter

The Bureau of Land Management has closed a hiking trail 45 miles northeast of Fairbanks after berry pickers encountered a grizzly. BLM spokesman Craig McCaa says the large bear approached a couple and their two small children as they picked berries Saturday night near their camp on the Table Top Mountain Trail, a three-mile loop in White Mountains National Recreation Area. McCaa that the father fired warning shots with his .44-caliber handgun but the bear continued its aggressive behavior. The family headed down the trail but the bear moved toward the man. He fired his last two shots at the grizzly. The man on Tuesday led BLM ranger Jonathan Priday to the site. They found no signs that the bear had been hit. AP