2 P.M. UPDATE: Wes Perkins, 54, is in critical condition at the intensive care unit of Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, a spokeswoman said.
Meantime, Alaska State Troopers just sent this description of the attack, saying Perkins was with a group that had been tracking the bear on snowmachines just prior to the attack:
Yesterday Wes Perkins went on a spring bear hunt with two other men. The three had spotted a large brown bear and were tracking it via snowmachines.
Perkins was riding ahead of the two other men when he passed the bear, which had gone down by a creek and laid down in the deep snow. He drove about 70 feet further then turned his snowmachine around. The bear charged Perkins.
Perkins was still on his snowmachine handling gear and was not able to get out of the way. The other men in his hunting party were able to shoot the bear. It wandered away and died.
The men contacted help via a hand-held they had with them. The incident occurred sometime around 3 p.m. and was reported to troopers at approximately 3:45 p.m.
A helicopter retrieved Perkins and transported him to the hospital. He is receiving further treatment from a hospital out of state. The brown bear died and was salvaged. The other two men were able to return to Nome yesterday evening. Today an AWT trooper conducted interviews and flew out to survey the scene.
ORIGINAL POST:
From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --
Alaska State Troopers are investigating a bear mauling reported Sunday east of Nome.
The victim, Wes Perkins, was attacked near an area called Skookum Pass, trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said.
Peters did not know Perkins' condition. He was taken to the Nome hospital following the attack, then flown outside the city for treatment, she said.
As of 10:30 a.m. today he was out of surgery and has been placed in an induced coma, said Maryjane Sipes, Perkins' co-worker in Nome.
"His wife and kids are with him," Sipes said.
Perkins is the former chief of the Nome volunteer fire department and now works for the telecommunication company TelAlaska. A spokeswoman said Perkins was not on the job at the time of the attack.
A member of his party shot the bear, which has been skinned and salvaged, Peters said.
Troopers had few details about the mauling this morning.
A wildlife trooper in Nome was unavailable. No one at the Nome Police Department or emergency services was available to talk about the incident.
Perkins works as Nome area supervisor for TelAlaska. He graduated from Nome Public Schools and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, according to a TelAlaska news release that announced his hire.
He has worked for the school district, the Department of Transportation and Nome Joint Utilities, the company says.
Perkins has served on the Nome Volunteer Fire Department for more than 30 years, including a seven-year stint as fire chief that ended in 2007, according to TelAlaska.
He is also a training officer for the Nome Volunteer Ambulance Department, the company says.
This is a developing story. Check back later for updates. If you live in the Nome area and would like to talk to a reporter about this incident, email Kyle Hopkins at khopkins@adn.com or call me at 257-4334 or 1-800-478-4200 ext 334.
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