California

Spent more time in forests with bears or bears in yard than most people.

I find more reason to fear large aggressive dogs or humans in boonies or in random auto accidents on the way to where might see a black bear assuming common sense,

That said, don't feed bears and be aware of bears with cubs, ill or during time of drought or other food uncertainty. Any area where there are bears plus human contact plus food, think campgrounds and rural dumps warrants being attentive. Bears like fruit trees too.

Sounds like the woman had been feeding animals too.

Can tell bear incident stories. Closest call was my beagle made a friend that was a black bear cub at work. We were a long way from truck on a steep slope densely cloaked with rhododendron. Grabbed beagle like a football but cub wanted with us and not with mother bear. Glad to get back to truck followed by the two bears. Know of two instances where bears moved into homes when no one was home. etc.

Made a post that could not find but is somewhere here at DU about contracts with Feds doing EISs on Tongass NF (SE Alaska). This was 30 plus years ago. The contracts included safety plans regards bears. There were wildlife biologists whose task was to study the bears. Where there were brown bears, work crews had to have an armed escort; where black bears, pepper spray was adequate but crews. Some individuals chose to work armed in any case. Brown bears are large, aggressive carnivores; black bears are omnivores and usually non-aggressive but sometimes curious.