Bears: Some have spotted them in Valencia and just weeks ago, in Castaic backyards. Add Newhall to the mix as the California Highway Patrol received reports of a bear sighting early Wednesday morning.
A large bear was spotted around 2 a.m. rummaging through trash cans near the Crescent Valley Mobile home park, located at 23500 The Old Road.
“The call came in at 1:56 a.m. of a bear in the reporting party’s backyard,” said Officer Peter Nicholson with the CHP. “The call was then transported to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Department.”
Law enforcement and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife did not respond to the area.
There were no reports of injuries or additional sightings by Wednesday afternoon, according to Nicholson.
But property manager Rocio Mendoza said bear visits in and around Crescent Valley, between 7 p.m. and 1 p.m., have been frequent over the last three weeks.
“We’ve been getting a big bear and a small bear every night for the last three weeks and they’re always going into dumpsters and sometimes they visit our residents’ spaces.”
While no one has been injured, Mendoza said she is advising residents not to leave food outside their homes “as they are sensitive to smells” and will be sending out a newsletter with additional tips.
“We can’t avoid them; we’re on their territory and we just have to work it out,” she added.
Just more than a month ago, a mother bear and her cub were seen in a Castaic neighborhood. The SCV Sheriff’s Station responded and the Department of Fish and Wildlife was contacted but determined that no response was necessary unless there’s a direct threat.
