Funeral motorcade will pass through Kalispell on Thursday

Flathead National Forest officials are planning for 3,000 people to attend Thursday’s funeral ceremony at Legends Stadium for Brad Treat, the forest law enforcement officer who was attacked and killed by a bear while mountain biking last week.

Forest spokeswoman Janette Turk said a motorcade will begin lining up at Glacier High School at 7:30 a.m. and the procession will depart about an hour later, following Wolfpack Way and Old Reserve Drive to U.S. 93.

She noted there likely will be traffic impacts as the caravan heads through downtown Kalispell, following Main Street to 12th Street West and ending at Legends Stadium at Third Avenue West.

Turk asked that funeral attendees and those driving in the procession be considerate of residents in the neighborhoods surrounding Legends Stadium, since parking will be extremely limited.

The ceremony at Legends Stadium begins at 10 a.m.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks announced over the weekend it had called off the search for the bear and removed traps set up in the area after determining that Treat had collided with the animal in the Green Gates trail network, just south of West Glacier on Flathead National Forest land.

The roughly 10-square-acre area surrounding the scene of the attack remains closed to the public.

Turk said the closure likely will be lifted soon, but because the bear traps use strong-smelling attractant, officials were waiting for the smell to disperse in case bears had been lured to the area.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman John Fraley said Tuesday the investigation was continuing, but declined to say whether officials believe a significant public safety threat could remain.

“You can’t say any one area is more dangerous than any other in grizzly country,” Fraley said. “They’re looking for any other evidence or results of the investigation that will shed light on the incident as a whole.”

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.