VANCOUVER -- Tales of a giant, hairy ape-like creature tramping through the woods are running wild in a northern interior B.C. town after a rash of sasquatch sightings.

There have been three reported sightings in the area within a month, said Brian Vike, the Houston, B.C.-based director of HBCC UFO Research.

"To be honest with you, I don't know what to make of all this," said Mr. Vike. "I know with UFOs we're doing well in B.C., but I don't know with the sasquatch. I'm just trying to figure it out."

One of the sightings was reported by Houston resident Delores Harrie, who was at home on July 28 just after 6 p.m., when her two dogs began barking furiously.

She saw the doorknob rattle, and when she went outside to investigate, she saw a shaggy creature running across the tree line into the bushes.

"It was huge - about seven to eight feet tall - and hairy," said Ms. Harrie, 45. "He had long hair, shaggy . . . in a pine-beetle colour, totally covered."

"I couldn't believe how fast he moved," she added. "I can't see it being a grizzly. They run but they don't run on two legs. I know it's not a moose either."

Ms. Harrie reported the incident to Mr. Vike, who investigated and recorded some strange markings on the ground.

"Definitely something had been there," said Mr. Vike. "There are some cow tracks, but this was something else - someone with a good-sized foot."

The other sightings were on Morgan Road in Houston in July and on Telkwa Highway Road in Moricetown, also in northern B.C., on Aug. 27.

There was also a reported sasquatch encounter in Campbell River on Aug. 31.

Ms. Harrie, who was "freaked out" about the encounter, said she's trying to be open-minded about what she saw.

"There are so many things out there. I think it would be a little crazy to think we're the only ones here."