A mother bear and her three cubs are safe after a dramatic rescue freed the family from a California water tank where they had been trapped for more than 12 hours.
Officials believe the bears squeezed through an opening only about a foot wide while possibly searching for water during hot and humid weather. Once inside the concrete cistern, however, they were unable to get back out.
The rescue unfolded Saturday, Aug. 29, at Marshall Canyon County Park near the Claremont Wilderness Park 5-Mile Loop Trail in La Verne, California.
Firefighters and wildlife officials launched a large-scale rescue effort that first responders jokingly dubbed “Operation Care Bear.”
Residents first noticed something was wrong at around 8 a.m.
“We climbed up top, and there’s a small hole and right away we see a bear staring at us, kind of holding on to the walls because it was full of water,” one local resident told ABC7.
Tyler Christensen, who recorded video of the trapped animals, said the bears appeared terrified.
“I just stuck my head in the hole. One was all tucked up on the top,” he said. “They were just scared to death.”
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife first drained water from the tank to make sure the animals would not drown.
Firefighters from La Verne and Los Angeles County then moved in to figure out how to get the bears out.
Because the original opening was too narrow, crews used a saw to create a larger exit. They then lowered a ladder into the tank, hoping the exhausted animals would be able to climb their way to safety.
It took some time before the bears were willing to move.
“They were exhausted, so it took a few minutes for the first cub to come out, then the second cub got out, and then finally the mother,” Keith Navarre of the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.
One of the three cubs had already managed to escape on its own before rescuers arrived.
That cub was later reunited with its mother and siblings.
Video from the scene showed the bears slowly emerging from the tank one by one after the hours-long ordeal.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department later confirmed that the entire family made it out safely.
“We are happy to report Mama Bear and her three cubs made it out safely,” the department wrote on Facebook, thanking its Urban Search and Rescue team for helping with the operation.
After more than half a day trapped inside the water tank, all four bears were finally reunited and safe.