A Los Angeles man made a horrifying discovery when he finally returned home after the Eaton Fire struck his neighborhood.
Samy Arbid told CBS News that he found a 525-pound bear in his crawlspace by using a ring camera.
“We ended up putting a ring camera with a light on it under the crawlspace and found out we have a giant bear under there,” Arbid said. “It was nerve-wracking for a while.”
Several neighbors called the bear Berry while others referred to him as Victor, apparently aware that he lived in nearby Eaton Canyon, the starting point of the massive Eaton Fire.
“I think during the fire he pretty much stayed in there,” Arbid told CBS News. “I think he was scared.”
SoCalGas crews were unable to access the meter to turn back on gas in Arbid’s home when the bear was present. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife set up a tempting track to lure the bear out of the crawlspace which included “some rotisserie chicken” from Starter Brothers, as well as “sardines and tomato sauce, apples, peanut butter — all kinds of stuff,” according to Arbid, who described it as “a feast for him.”
The bear was successfully lured out of the crawlspace, but too large to tranquilize, instead being trapped and moved out of the area.
“The biologist actually said it was the biggest bear he’s ever seen in person,” Arbid told CBS News.
Several neighbors described the bear as “pretty harmless” and were happy to hear that he was given a good meal.
“He just wants some good trash, like we all like some good trash,” said Patty Smith, who said she was worried about the wildlife suffering through the wildfire, via CBS News.
“I don’t know if he was injured,” she added. “I don’t know if his paws were singed or anything like that but he found safety under there.”
The bear was fitted for a GPS collar and relocated back to the Angeles National Forest after being lured out of the crawlspace.
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