Bear Finally Evicted From LA County Man's Home

ALTADENA, CA — A 500-pound bear that refused to budge from the crawlspace under an Altadena man's home for weeks has finally moved out.

The bear moved in to the crawlspace under Ken Johnson's home before Thanksgiving, prompting him to reach out to state wildlife officials for help.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife staff attempted to remove the bear using air horns and chemical scents and set up a trap. But that didn't work.

Johnson grew so frustrated by the bear's refusal to leave — and what he saw as the state's inaction — that he publicly threatened to sue the state at the end of last year.

This week, volunteers from the Lake Tahoe-based nonprofit BEAR League visited Johnson to assist.

One of the group's volunteers "crawled beneath the home — fully aware the bear was still there — to get behind him and encourage him to exit through the crawlspace opening" in an ordeal that was caught on surveillance video.

Johnson told KTLA he was surprised how quickly the group was able to kick the bear out.

“I couldn’t believe it was so fast,” Johnson said. “These guys went in, they crawled in behind him and, boom, he was out.”

The video shows the bear squeezing out of the crawlspace and running off. After that, the crawlspace was boarded up and volunteers installed "electric unwelcome mats" on top of the former opening to discourage the bear from returning.

The video shows the bear returning two night later, trying to return to his adoptive subterranean home, but the electrified mat quickly scared him off.

“I’m relieved – no more banging under the house and smelling him and wondering what’s going on under there,” Johnson told KTLA.

City News Service contributed to this report.