Black bears are one of the largest predators in the United States.
No one could have prepared themselves for the onslaught that came from the mountains.
Now a California town is facing the worst possible scenario after this scary black bear invasion.
California mountain town being ransacked by black bears
Pine Mountain Club, California is a small town of around 2,000 people nestled in the San Emigdio Mountains and within the Los Padres National Forest.
Every spring, California’s black bear population emerges from its winter hibernation ready to eat.
Since last July, the town has had over 550 incidents with bears as they come into the town in search of food.
“We’re seeing hundreds of bear entries each year in our little community,” resident Ian Sawry said. “Can you imagine the uproar if they were home burglaries instead of bear break-ins?”
Bears have a strong sense of smell and can even pick up the scent of food inside homes.
They’ve broken through doors, windows, and ripped open roofs to get into homes looking for food.
This is 2020…”Earlier Friday, a Facebook post by a group that tracks bear sightings in the Los Padres forest posted a picture of a bear reportedly trying to enter a home through a window in Pine Mountain Club.” We can’t confirm if it’s the same bear or not…@Jessica23ABC pic.twitter.com/i6pKpZG3Ec
— Lezla GoodenTV (@LezlaGoodenTV) July 11, 2020
One bear burned down a house after accidentally turning on the stove after breaking in and rummaging around the kitchen.
Pine Mountain Club resident Ian Soring told NBC News that the bear problem “is out of control.”
He’s put up electric wire around his property to keep bears out, and has a stun gun to chase them off.
Residents are on their own to defend their properties from them with no help from the city.
Electric fences and wire have become the main ways to keep these hungry giants out.
Soring said he once walked in on a bear going through his fridge.
“I asked who was in the kitchen and the bear replied with a lengthy sturdy growl,” Soring said. “I just hit that stun gun and that electrified sound made the bear jump straight out of the window he came in.”
Pine Mountain Club Property Owners Association Todd Greisen said that some of the town’s residents were making the situation worse.
“We’ve got a few residents who think it is their job to feed the bears, so they contribute to the problem,” Greisen said. “We are working with the authorities to deal with that.”
Bear invasion is getting worse in Pine Mountain Club
Pine Mountain Club patrol chief Patrice Stimpson said that the number of incidents involving bears is on the rise.
“Bears are a major problem here — and it’s getting worse,” says Stimpson. “They’ve caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage. Last year, a house caught fire after a bear climbed onto the gas stove and turned on the burners. A few cars were nearly totaled by bears rummaging for crushed cookies between the seats.”
Stimpson’s patrol will use paintball guns to scare the bears off.
“We shoot the bears in the rear,” Stimpson said, “and it sends them running.”
But in some states, such tactics are considered wildlife harassment, so be sure to know your state’s laws on the matter before taking such things into your own hands.
What to do about the bears has become a flashpoint in the small mountain community.
Some residents want to try and live with the situation while others want to see them eliminated.
And Pine Mountain Club residents are scrambling to find a solution to the big bear invasion.
