You will get conflicted information on how to deal with bears, because for one thing, by the time a ranger tells you what is the latest, best, idea, the bear may have been getting that treatment for quite a while and not respond to it any more.
For example, if people loom up at him, or if they throw sticks at him, and it never brings him to harm, he will learn to ignore such nonsense.
I managed to save breakfast once by whacking a walking-stick against a nearby tree. The sharp sound stopped the bear in his tracks, and a couple more cracks, plus some advancing motion, sent him on his way. I think it was the uncertainty of what might happen next, that spooked him.
Oh yes, the people across the lake used traditional methods of banging pans, shouting, and throwing things, and they were wiped out. Their food, that is.
There are quite a few black bears in North America, and the Liard episode notwithstanding, I'll bet the black bear "violent crime" rate is less than among a similar number of humans. Still, you can have a psycho animal, too.