On October 10, 1994, Mr. Hansen saved a man from a grizzly bear attack in the Van Dyke Mountain Range, near Kitwanga, British Columbia. When Mr. Hansen and three other people were taking a break from picking mushrooms, a bear suddenly appeared and charged one of the group as they fled. Mr. Hansen grabbed a stick and hit the bear, which only paused, then resumed its attack and began pulling the man away. Grabbing a bigger club, Mr. Hansen struck the animal on its snout, forcing it to abandon its victim. Disoriented, the bear stumbled off into the woods. Mr. Hansen bandaged the man, and the group made it the eleven kilometres to where an ambulance met them and brought the severely injured man to hospital for treatment.