500-pound bear finally evicted from Altadena home after living in crawl space

Altadena bear finally moves out of home

A 500-pound black bear has finally left an Altadena home. The bear had been living in the crawl space since November.

ALTADENA, Calif. - For over a month, a 500-pound bear was living in a crawl space under an Altadena home… leaving its homeowner, Ken Johnson, beyond frustrated. 

But that bear has finally left the house. 

Bear discovered under home 

The backstory:

Johnson said he initially found damage to his home that appeared to have been caused by an unknown animal, so he set up a surveillance camera. Around Thanksgiving, the camera captured a massive black bear making its way into the narrow crawl space. 

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Bear lives rent-free under crawl space at Altadena home

Efforts to remove the bear fell flat, as nothing worked. 

At one point, video showed a second bear approaching the crawl space, only to get scared off by the first bear who was already living there.

Second bear spotted as Altadena homeowner struggles with crawl-space intruder

An Altadena homeowner is dealing with an unusual situation: a bear has taken up residence in his crawl space. New video shows a second bear approach the crawl space, only to get scared off by another bear who was already living there.

Bear is finally evicted

On January 8, the BEAR League, a non-profit organization based in the Lake Tahoe basin, said their first responders were successfully able to remove the bear. 

"Scott, one of our most experienced responders, crawled beneath the home—fully aware the bear was still there—to get behind him and encourage him to exit through the crawlspace opening," the BEAR League wrote in a post online. 

Bear finally leaves Altadena home

Altadena homeowner Ken Johnson shared video of a 500-pound bear being removed from a crawl space under his home. The bear had been living there for over a month, causing damage and fear. 

The nonprofit loaned Johnson an electric ‘unwelcome’ mat which would prevent the bear from reentering the crawl space. New surveillance video shared by Johnson shows the bear attempting to enter the crawl space only to get scared off by an electric shock. 

The bear caused extensive damage to the home. According to the BEAR League, concerned the gas line may have been damaged, the homeowner shut off gas service just before Christmas.

Johnson created a GoFundMe to help with damage costs, estimated to be tens of thousands of dollars.

Local perspective:

The BEAR League said they evict multiple bears from homes every day. They encourage people to call them at 530-525-7297.