Fat Bear Week: how to vote, and how to stay safe around Colorado’s own bears

ALASKA (KRDO) - Every year, the National Park Service celebrates the fall with a public vote for the fattest bear in Alaska's Katmai National Park before hibernation.

Here in Colorado, thousands of residents have gotten a view much closer for comfort than the popular Alaskan livestream.

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), bear encounters over doubled in August from the same time last year, eclipsing 8600 reported incidents. Bear relocations tripled. Bear euthanizations had the biggest jump, rising over 350%.

Environmental factors like low snowpack, droughts and wildfires have reduced the bears' food supply and habitats. CPW said they are becoming increasingly comfortable around humans because residents are not scaring them off.

CPW said people should get big, make loud noises and use noisemakers to scare bears away when they come near civilization. It said bears have good memories and will keep coming back to trash cans and bird feeders they feel provide an easy meal.