Grizzly Night

The way we think about the bears that roam our wilderness areas changed the night of Aug. 12, 1967. Grizzly Night follows a novice female ranger as she leads a crowd of tourists to the overbooked park chalet. Also in the park that day is a fresh-faced young couple on an outdoor adventure and five carefree park employee teens enjoying the weekend off. As they settle into their respective sleeping areas that evening, none of these park visitors is aware of the horrors they will confront within hours. Several marauding grizzly bears had been spotted within the park that day, and many of the campers remarked on their boldness. But when a sudden scream erupts outside the chalet, our underestimated female protagonist is the areas only on-duty park ranger and must set her insecurities aside to form a motley rescue group to head out into the darkness. This is the true story of the tragic deaths of Julie Helgeson and Michelle Koons. Both were19-year-old women killed by grizzlies on the same night, in the same park, just nine miles apart. Had the bears grown tired of humans invading their space? Or did daily bear feedings staged for camera-wielding chalet guests finally set them off? No one knows for certain, but this true event changed the way the U.S. National Park service interacts with indigenous wildlife and it inspired rules and regulations that are still in place today.