Family finds 525-pound bear in crawl space underneath home that survived Eaton Fire​on February 1, 2025 at 9:13 pm

ALTADENA, Calif. (KABC) — Most people wouldn’t think of the crawl space underneath their home as an ideal hibernation spot for bear.

That includes Sam Arbid.

He and his family returned to their Altadena home recently after being forced to evacuate due to the Eaton Fire. Fortunately, their home was saved, but it came with a familiar furry friend.

A massive 525-pound bear took shelter from the fires in a cozy crawl space underneath Arbid’s home.

But this isn’t the first encounter the homeowners have had with the bear, who’s actually known as “Beary” to local residents.

Arbid bought the house a couple months ago and found Beary when he shined a Ring camera into the crawl space.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said.

Arbid was working on a plan to remove the animal when the Eaton Fire broke out. When the evacuation orders were lifted, utility workers came to the home attempting to restore services.

That’s where they found Beary in his normal spot: underneath the house inside the crawl space.

Experts from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife were called in to safely move the bear. They placed a tasty treat inside a trap outside of the home and waited.

The bear was given a GPS collar and relocated to the Angeles National Forest.

“He was actually a pretty mellow wild animal,” said Arbid. “But we want to be able to use our front yard.”

The crawl space has since been boarded up and bear proofed.