LOS ANGELES -- A second black bear took up tenancy in the crawlspace of a home evacuated during the Eaton fire, prompting local frustration and fear about the furry creature's destructive capabilities.
The bear made himself comfortable, lounging by the pool during the day and bringing back food to the crawlspace from neighbors' trash at night, homeowner Sean Lorenzini said.
"I think it found refuge under the house during the fire, and it's definitely not moving -- that's its home," he said.
The bear left claw marks on neighborhood trash bins, tore insulation out from underneath the house and is probably the culprit behind several broken fuses as well as a recent attack on his neighbor's pet goat, Lorenzini said. He estimates it weighs 500 to 600 pounds.
He's not the only resident to discover an unbearable problem upon returning home after the fire.
At the end of January, an Altadena homeowner could not get their power turned back on because crews were too scared of the 525-pound black bear living under the house. California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials were able to lure out that bear using peanut butter and rotisserie chicken, relocating it to the Angeles National Forest.
Lorenzini is trying to get the agency to do the same thing with his uninvited guest.
"I feel really sorry for this bear. I know we're encroaching on their territory, so I'm sympathetic to that," he said. "But at the same time, I've got a property to protect and I'm exposed if anyone gets hurt. This is a wild animal."
A spokesperson for the Department of Fish and Wildlife said the agency was aware of the Pasadena bear and working on a response.
Lorenzini said he filed a report about the bear Thursday and still didn't know when Fish and Wildlife planned to send a crew to relocate it. The agency told him that, once the bear is removed, it is important he seal the crawlspace as the creature will probably try to return, he said.
"In the foothills of bear country, it's important to close crawlspaces with bear-proof material in advance of winter months to discourage bears from denning and damaging property," the Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a post on the Altadena bear.
The creature's tenancy is a massive headache for Lorenzini, who is trying to renovate his home and still processing the stress of the Eaton fire.
Nation & World FireAid announces $50 million for LA community organizations helping those impacted by fires By GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA - Associated Press
His house sits on a lot that burned during a 1993 wildfire, and he said it was only luck that saved it this time.
"It's a miracle that this time the wind shifted at the last second and blew the fire away from our hill," he said. "So we were spared, but only by a fluke of the wind change."
He is eager to have the bear moved so he can get the gas and heat turned back on and start assessing the smoke and bear damage his property endured.
Plumbers are reluctant to go under the house and fix his gas due to the presence of the bear.
Nation & World Scientists understood physics of climate change in the 1800s - thanks to a woman named Eunice Foote Sylvia G. Dee, Rice University
Black bears are not an uncommon sight in the foothill communities of Altadena, Pasadena, Monrovia and Sierra Madre, which border their natural habitat in the Angeles National Forest. As humans fled the 14,100-acre Eaton fire, it's likely that nearby bears also sought a safe space.
A similar phenomenon was observed with the Malibu mountain lion population after the 2018 Woolsey fire, when UCLA wildlife researchers documented an increase in the number killed by motorists as they rushed to escape the almost 100,000-acre burn zone.
Nation & World Some in Hurricane Helene-ravaged North Carolina embrace Trump's push to abolish FEMA By MAKIYA SEMINERA - Associated Press
In general, the Department of Fish and Wildlife cited the destruction of bear habitat and human infringement on the animals' territory as key factors driving up the number of bears found in the foothills.
Sierra Madre, in particular, found bears to be a real bother. The 3-square-mile city tucked below the southern edge of the Angeles National Forest saw the number of calls for bear sightings jump from about 100 in 2020 to 380 in 2023.
Though black bears typically are connected to only one -- or zero -- human deaths across the country on an annual basis, they still can be dangerous to humans, pets and property.
In 2019, an 83-year-old homeless man was mauled by a black bear while sleeping in the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley. Foothill residents also complained about bears breaking in and damaging their homes.
Photos: Wildfires burn through the Los Angeles area