Foresthill Woman Has Close Encounter With Black Bear
FORESTHILL (CBS13) - A Foresthill woman had an unwelcome visitor. A bold black bear broke in to her home while she was there, so she hid and called 911.
And it's no the first run-in she's had with the bear.
"The first time was really scary because I realized how close I was to the bear."
The community is buzzing about the bear break-ins. At the Red Dirt Saloon, a local hangout, there was a lot of chatter about the bears Monday.
"This past week I've had three encounters with bears," the woman said.
She doesn't want her face shown, and she doesn't want to see the face of that black bear again. He's out there somewhere...
Deep in Foresthill a bear has been terrorizing her, stalking her home and hanging out on her back porch.
The first two times she just shooed it away. "This third time was a little bit freaky," she said.
The bad, bold bear took it to the next level.
"I heard this noise and immediately I thought about the bear," she said.
He walked into her home through an open door and sat down in her kitchen, looking to be fed.
"It had opened the cabinet door and it opened a bag of cat food and it was just sitting there enjoying its cat food meal," she said.
She knew shooing wasn't going to work this time.
"I very quietly, quickly went across the living room and up the steps and I locked the door to my bedroom and I called 911," she said.
Meanwhile, the bear made himself at home.
"I peeked out my door and realized he was not going away until he was darn good and ready."
Back at the Red Dirt Saloon, people offered advice on how to deal with bear encounters.
"They're just as afraid of us as we are of them," bar manager Joan Elliott said. "I clap my hands and say 'Hey, hey!'"
But that's not what another woman advised.
"I think you go in the fetal position and just lie there," she said.
By the time deputies got there, the bear was gone and the resident was relieved.
"I love the wildlife but I quit loving bears today," she said.
She also told CBS13 that despite her close encounter, she didn't get hurt obviously, but she's ready for that bear next time.
She doesn't want to use gun but was told by the sheriff's deputies to place cayenne pepper around her home to keep the bear away.
