A woman in her 80s was injured early Thursday morning when a bear entered her home on the west side of Estes Park through a closed but unlocked window, made its way upstairs, and attacked her in the kitchen, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Sandi Smith, vice president of the Windcliff Homeowners Association, confirmed that Thursday’s attack occurred in the Windcliff neighborhood and said residents have become increasingly concerned as encounters in the area have escalated.
The attack followed several nights of intense bear activity in the neighborhood, including bears entering other occupied homes, prowling decks and getting into vehicles, according to CPW and Windcliff residents.
“This is not like it’s a really rare occurrence,” Smith said. “It happens.”
Smith said a bear has visited her own deck four times in the past month, including one recent encounter around 9:30 p.m. Her dogs alerted her to the animal as it wandered around the deck. There was no food or other obvious attractant outside.
That night, she said, a bear entered another occupied home in the neighborhood through a window. Security cameras captured the encounter as the homeowner and bear unexpectedly came face to face. Both retreated, with the bear escaping through the window.
The following night, Smith said, another Windcliff resident reported a bear entering a downstairs bathroom through a window that had been cracked open to let steam escape after a shower. The bear got into toothpaste and cosmetics before leaving through the same window.
A few hours later came the encounter that injured the woman in her 80s.
Bear charges homeowner
CPW said the bear entered the woman’s house around 4:30 a.m. Thursday through an unlocked, closed window on the first floor.
The woman told wildlife officers she awoke to noises and discovered the adult bear in her second-floor kitchen.
Smith said the woman and bear made eye contact before the bear charged, scratched the woman across the stomach, and knocked her to the ground, before going downstairs and exiting through the same first-floor window it had used to enter.
The woman called 911, and Larimer County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded but were unable to locate the bear. She sought medical treatment for her abdominal injuries.
CPW has requested assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to locate the bear.
As of Friday afternoon, wildlife officers had not found the bear. In accordance with CPW policy, bears responsible for attacks on humans represent a public safety threat due to dangerous behavior and are lethally removed.
CPW officers have set traps in the area to remove bears posing an immediate threat to public safety.
Smith said CPW had previously placed a trap in the Windcliff area because of bear activity but later removed it. Thursday’s attack changed the urgency of the situation.
Once a bear has attacked a person inside a home, Smith said, “they really get very serious about it.”
HOA steps up warnings
Windcliff, a mountainside residential community southwest of downtown Estes Park, has long shared its surroundings with bears and other wildlife. But Smith said this year’s behavior has become particularly concerning.
The HOA has sent notices reminding property owners to secure their homes and eliminate anything that might attract a bear. As encounters increased, so have the urgency of those messages.
The instructions include keeping windows closed and latched, closing garage doors, locking vehicles and removing food, bird seed, hummingbird feeders and other attractants.
Smith said the HOA has also stressed the importance of informing visitors and guests about living in bear country. Windcliff includes short-term rentals, and visitors may not recognize the risk of leaving a window cracked open on a warm summer night.
“You do not leave a window open,” Smith said. “Do not leave the garage door open. Make sure everything’s latched and closed. They know how to open doors. Make sure your vehicles are locked. Don’t leave food outside.”
The association recently issued an even more strongly worded notice telling residents that the precautions need to be followed every night.
Smith said getting people to understand the seriousness of the situation can be difficult.
“Nobody ever thinks it’s going to happen to them,” she said.
The recent encounters demonstrate how little opportunity a bear may need.
Smith had left her own sliding door open behind a screen on a warm evening before closing and locking it as temperatures cooled. A bear appeared on her deck about 20 minutes later.
At another home, a partially opened bathroom window was enough to allow a bear inside.
Smith said residents can no longer assume a screen, cracked window or familiar routine will keep a determined bear out.
“They’re very active,” she said.
‘Extraordinary bear year’
The Windcliff encounters are part of a much broader problem.
“As we continue to navigate this extraordinary bear year, please continue to be vigilant in removing food and trash that may attract bears to your property,” CPW Area Wildlife Manager Jason Duetsch said. “Wildlife officers are working tirelessly to respond to an unprecedented number of bear reports, and we are counting on the community to help mitigate conflict.”
Colorado is experiencing what CPW describes as an unprecedented year for human-bear conflicts, largely because drought has depleted many of the natural foods bears depend on.
Conditions are becoming more challenging as bears enter hyperphagia, the late-summer and fall period when they eat almost continuously to build fat reserves before denning.
Bears can consume roughly 20,000 calories a day during hyperphagia. Their search for those calories can cause them to take greater risks and venture into neighborhoods, vehicles and homes.
Historic low snowpack during the 2025-26 winter, late spring freezes and a dry summer have contributed to widespread failures of berries, fruits, nuts and other natural foods.
CPW has said signs point to 2026 being the worst natural food year for bears statewide since the agency began recording forage conditions in 2008.
Smith said residents at Windcliff are seeing the consequences firsthand.
Bears have gotten into garages and vehicles in previous years, she said, but the frequency with which they are attempting to enter homes this year is particularly troubling.
Lock windows, doors, and vehicles
CPW is urging residents to secure trash at all times, lock windows, doors and vehicles and remove other potential food attractants.
Bird feeders should be taken down until Thanksgiving.
Residents should never intentionally feed bears or leave food where bears can reach it. Feeding wildlife is illegal and contributes to habituation, a process through which bears lose their natural wariness of people.
Smith said the lesson from this week’s encounters is particularly important for Estes Valley residents accustomed to opening their homes to cool mountain air at night.
A window does not have to be wide open for a bear to exploit it.
“You can’t leave anything cracked open,” she said.
CPW recommends that people who encounter a black bear remain calm and never run. If a bear has not noticed you, do not approach it and quietly move away. If it sees you, back away slowly and give it room to leave.
If a bear approaches, stand your ground, wave your arms and yell until the animal leaves. Bear spray can be used if it continues approaching.
If a black bear makes physical contact, CPW advises fighting back aggressively rather than playing dead.
Bear activity and conflicts should be reported to CPW. Anyone facing an immediate threat should call 911.