Suncor employee recovering from weekend bear assault at base plant

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A employee is recovering from a bear assault at Suncor’s base plant north of Fort McMurray this previous weekend.

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The corporate says the assault happened at roughly 8 p.m. on Could 6. It’s believed the assault, which happened on the operation’s coker advanced, occurred as a result of the bear was startled. Alberta Fish and Wildlife says the bear felt it was threatened and wanted to defend itself. It was not a predatory assault.

The employee was delivered to the Northern Lights Regional Well being Centre and launched just a few hours later.

The assault happened at some point earlier than the seventh anniversary of a bear assault that killed a Suncor worker in 2014.

Lorna Weafer, 36, was working in Suncor’s La Bodega space, situated roughly 25 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, when she was attacked and killed by a cinnamon-coloured black bear.

Weafer, {an electrical} and instrumentation technician with Suncor, was leaving the washroom and returning to a workshop when she was attacked.

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Her coworkers tried chasing the bear away with air horns and fireplace extinguishers, and threw rocks, clamps and metallic bars. The bear’s assault continued till Suncor’s emergency companies chased the bear away with a water cannon.

The corporate has since improved the way it handles the specter of bears within the boreal forest. Workers working close to bear habitats additionally get private deterrents, equivalent to bear spray. There are additionally requirements for fencing.

A Suncor spokesperson couldn’t verify if these deterrents have been in use throughout the newest bear assault. An onsite skilled wildlife contractor does bear surveillance and monitoring, and has elevated monitoring efforts because the assault.

Black bears are generally discovered within the Fort McMurray Wooden Buffalo space. The municipality is warning individuals to not put on headphones when within the forest. Bear spray also needs to be carried and accessible, equivalent to clipped to your belt.

Extra details about how to answer a bear might be discovered on the RMWB’s BearSmart web page. Bears which can be seen on neighbourhood streets, parks or anyplace inside Fort McMurray must be reported Alberta Fish and Wildlife at 780-743-7200. The Report A Poacher hotline is at 1-800-642-3800 and can be utilized for after hours stories. In an emergency, name 9-1-1.

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