Definitely a thing in Alaska, wolves being pack animals makes it more of a danger as they can attack humans too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wolf_attacks_in_North_...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wolf_attacks_in_North_...
Surely an event that only happen 4 times in more than 50 years is not worth mentioning.
Also, I lived in the Yukon for 4 years, roamed all over YK and AK in the summers and winters, saw tons of wolves. Never heard of a single person ever having problems with them, it's simply not a thing.
AFAIU, fear of humans is both a learned and instinctual behavior of large predators. The latter can take thousands of years to develop, but the former requires active management, such as hunting and killing. To the extent that learned element isn't there and wolf populations continue to encroach on settlements, I would expect increased incidents.[1] And that seems to be reflected in the data.
Though, that's a pretty abstract argument. The risk still seems miniscule and inconsequential. OTOH, from a political perspective consequential is defined by public sentiment, not empirical data and calculated risk assessment.
[1] A quick Google search suggests that wolf hunting has been legal and practiced in Alaska since 1994. Though, maybe it's always been legal, even after wolves became protected in the lower United States. EDIT: It seems wolf hunting never ceased in Alaska (https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=intensivemanageme...), though by the 1980s even land hunting (as oppose to aerial) required permitting, which suggests people could freely shoot wolves before then, and presumably did when people felt insecure--see conclusion #5 at the very end of the page.
Sure it happens, but it is extremely uncommon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in_t...