A Salmon, Idaho Man Fought a Black Bear in His Back Doorway at 3 a.m. After Bears Spent Days Feeding on Garbage and a Neighbor’s Chickens

The family dog, Lulu, was the one who finally drove the young bear away from the house. By then Brian Heidemann had already met the animal at his back door in the dark and wrestled it out into the yard, with his wife, Kim, right behind him, EastIdahoNews reported. It happened in the 3 a.m. hour on Friday, Oct. 2, in the Sunset Heights neighborhood of Salmon, Idaho.

Idaho Fish and Game later found that a sow and her two juvenile bears had been feeding for several days on unsecured household garbage outside the home and on chickens kept next door, according to the department’s account as published by Idahonews.com. All three bears are now dead, and Brian Heidemann needed surgery after a helicopter flight to Idaho Falls.

A Swamp Cooler, a Bedroom Window and a Back Door

The Heidemanns live in the house with Kim’s two daughters, ages 14 and 9, and Lulu. According to EastIdahoNews, the trouble started at the 14-year-old’s bedroom. A juvenile bear, about a year old, climbed onto the swamp cooler outside her window and tried to get in. At first the girl thought the noise was a person.

She ran to wake her mother and stepfather. By the time they were up, the bear had reportedly come in through a back door. Brian lunged at it, and the struggle spilled outside, with Kim close behind.

The girls tried to keep Lulu inside, but the dog got out and went after the bear. The bear turned on Lulu, and Lulu scared it off. Only then did the family see the rest of the group: the sow and both juveniles were moving around the house. Everyone got back inside and called 911.

Fish and Game’s timeline puts the first report at about 3:30 a.m. and says the residents tackled and wrestled the bear after it tried to enter through the back door. Department staff and the Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office responded at about 4:30 a.m.

A Neighbor’s Gunshot, a Helicopter Flight and a Fundraiser

With the bears still close to the house, a neighbor fired a shot toward them. That scared them off long enough for an ambulance to reach the family, EastIdahoNews reported. Fish and Game later said the sow was found dead, shot by that neighbor shortly after the attack.

Brian took the worst of it. He had a bone-deep cut on his arm and deep wounds to the back of his head and his torso. He was flown by helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, where he had surgery, and he was expected to be released Saturday. Kim was checked by medical crews. Lulu was taken to a local veterinarian.

Friends and family set up a fundraiser on Support Now to help with the medical bills. A family friend, Savanna Dabell, told EastIdahoNews that an early sheriff’s description placing the attack on the front porch was a detail that got scrambled in the chaos of that night.

Three Traps by the Chicken Coop Next Door

The bears had been in the neighborhood before that night. Fish and Game said it was first told about bears in the area on Thursday, Oct. 1, when a neighbor reported a black bear with cubs eating chickens at the spot where the attack later happened.

The owners of those chickens had not contacted the department, and Fish and Game did not have permission to go onto their property. Staff set three bear traps near the chicken coop on the adjacent property and let the owners know. EastIdahoNews reported that Kim Heidemann had also called the department that week about the sow and two juveniles and was told traps would be set, and was asked not to shoot the bears herself.

After the attack, a houndsman tracked the bears. Early on Oct. 3, the two juveniles were caught in traps and euthanized. Fish and Game’s investigation concluded that the bears had fed for several days on the unsecured household garbage outside the home, in addition to the chickens. The homeowners have since removed those attractants, the department said.

Colorado has seen a similar pattern this fall: a Clear Creek County man kicked a charging bear near his trash cans in the middle of the night.

Coops, Feed Bins and Hot Wire

BearWise, an outreach program founded and funded by state wildlife agencies, has specific guidance for raising chickens in bear country. It calls for a sturdy coop with a strong roof, set away from overhanging trees and dense cover, with every door and window locked at night. Feed belongs in a bear-resistant container or a sturdy, locked building, not in the coop or on the porch. The program notes that plastic tubs will not keep bears out.

Its main tool is electric fencing. BearWise’s fencing guide recommends at least three strands of wire, with five or six preferred, the lowest 7 to 9 inches off the ground, the top 36 to 42 inches high, and an energizer putting out at least 6,000 volts and 0.5 joules. A 100-foot perimeter strung with five wires needs 500 feet of wire. Vegetation touching the wires can short the fence, so the program advises walking it every few days and keeping growth low.

The same program’s six at-home basics cover the rest of the yard: secure garbage and recycling, take down bird feeders while bears are active, keep pet food indoors, clean grills, and tell neighbors when bears are around.

What Lemhi County Deputies Want Off the Ground in Bear Country

The Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office used the attack to remind residents what draws bears into yards. Its list, shared through EastIdahoNews, reads like a fall yard checklist:

• Keep trash in a secure garage or shed, and put it out only on the morning of pickup.
• Pick ripe fruit promptly and clear fallen fruit from under trees.
• Take bird feeders down during active bear season.
• Leave no pet food, livestock feed or water bowls outside.
• Clean grills after every use, and store scented products indoors.
• Block openings under porches, decks and houses with thick plywood.
• Keep windows and doors shut, and lock car doors.
• Consider electric mats, or boards with protruding screws or nails, under vulnerable windows and doors.

The sheriff’s office also told residents not to feed bears or leave food out for them. In Salmon, chickens next door and several days of unsecured garbage were enough to bring a sow and two juveniles to a family’s back door, by Fish and Game’s account.

Backyard flocks were part of the draw in Salmon. Elsewhere, towns are still arguing over whether to allow them at all, as in Paxton, where the city council voted down backyard chickens this month. Where coops are allowed, the Sunset Heights case shows how quickly a flock that bears can reach, next to trash left outside, can turn into a call to Fish and Game.

Fish and Game spokesperson Tom Schrempp told EastIdahoNews the department would release more information about the case. For now, its findings are the ones above: three bears, several days of garbage, a chicken coop next door, and a family that fought off a bear with a lunge, a wrestling match and a dog named Lulu.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: Sam Beebe, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons