FAIRBANKS -- A popular trail near Fairbanks has been closed because of another bear encounter.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Tuesday that the Granite Tors Trail in the Chena River State Recreation Area is closed because Saturday's bear encounter was the third such encounter in the past week and a half.

The latest incident involved a cinnamon-colored black bear. The previous encounters involved two young grizzlies.

Chief ranger Ian Thomas says the bear that visited Saturday ripped a hole in the tent of a family camping on the trail. They were able to yell at the bear to get it away from the tent, and the man hit the bear with pepper spray. They also threw rocks at it to encourage it to go away.