A 36-year-old woman was seriously injured in a suspected brown bear attack near her home on Chinook Drive in Kenai early Tuesday. Authorities are searching for the bear and urging residents to stay vigilant and secure attractants.

Officials have indefinitely closed about 2.5 miles of popular biking, running and hiking trails in Far North Bicentennial Park and the Campbell Tract in East Anchorage due to heightened brown bear activity around salmon streams.

A hiker near the South Fork of Eagle River was mauled by a bear feeding on salmon and sustained non-life-threatening injuries; it's the second attack in the Anchorage area in under a week.

Area biologists recommend securing attractants as warmer weather leads to earlier bear activity on the Kenai Peninsula, prompting calls for caution among residents.

The man was walking his dogs on a well-used trail when he came across a sow with two cubs, a Fish and Game assistant area wildlife biologist said.