By Mary O’KEEFE

Another bear sighting was reported in the La Cañada area on Wednesday morning. A resident contacted the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station after witnessing a bear in a tree in a Pomander Place neighborhood, according to Lt. Edwards at the CV Sheriff’s Station.

By the time deputies arrived the bear was gone.

“Seeing bears in the area is not unusual,” said Andrew Hughan, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fish and Game Commission.

Hughan said he had not yet heard of any report of the bear Wednesday morning, but the behavior of simply running away is exactly what fish and game wants.

“If the bear was roaming around and then went back … that is what we want to see,” he added.

It is getting warmer and the bears are coming out of hibernation – and are hungry.

“They are looking for food. They are active and eat all the time,” he added. “The bear probably smelled something good, saw some people, [got scared], ran up into the tree and waited until [the noise or people went away].”

Hughan added the recent sightings of bears in the area had nothing to do with the Station Fire and lack of vegetation in the nearby mountains. It is just what bears do near their natural habitat.

  Mary Okeefe