Black bear found in Solano County neighborhood

A juvenile California black bear was seen roaming through Vacaville neighborhoods Monday lead to two schools being placed on lockdown as police worked to keep the community and the young animal safe.

According to Vacaville Police Sgt. Frank Piro, the bear was first seen at 5 a.m. Sunday at Alamo and West Monte Vista, but officers were unable to locate it, Piro said during an afternoon press briefing.

Early Monday morning it was spotted running through a resident's yard at Deodara and Poplar streets. Piro said.

It was later spotted roaming around the 200 block of North Orchard Avenue in Vacaville, not too far from Hemlock Elementary and Willis Jepson Middle schools.

While bear sightings are uncommon in Vacaville, Piro believed there was a bear sighting in town “about a year ago.”

“We've taken a lot of precautions to make sure he has his space and trying not to crowd him,” Piro said, adding that it had shown no signs of aggression.

At press time in the late afternoon, Vacaville Police Sgt. Frank Piro said the male bear, a juvenile estimated to be 3 to 4 years old and the subject of a flurry of comments on the department's social media pages, was asleep in the backyard of a North Orchard Ave. residence.

Police closed North Orchard Avenue down between Hemlock and Elder Streets and worked with the staff at both schools to provide safe routes home for students.

All roads in the area, previously blocked off, were opened by 4:40 p.m., traffic restrictions had been lifted, and, by mid-afternoon, parents were told they could pick up their students at the temporarily lockeddown schools, including Hemlock Elementary, according to the post's most recent wording.

Plans were, Prio said, to permit the napping bear, first spotted after 1 a.m. and later climbed up a towering tree in the home's backyard, to continue its slumber party while being monitored until nightfall, with the hope, based on an assessment by a state Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist, that it would wander back to a more natural habitat.

“Wherever that may be,” Piro said during a brief telephone interview.

He declined to identify the property owners, saying they wished to remain anonymous.

Prio characterized the residents of the home as “great people, very nice” and “hospitable to their temporary house guest.”

An officer remained on duty at the home, he added during a brief telephone interview.

No surprise, the bear sighting and story yielded hundreds of comments on the police department's Facebook page, with most writers expressing the wish for the police to give the bear a chance to return to its home.

In a text message to The Reporter earlier in the day, Lt. Katie Cardona wrote, “Right now, the recommendation is to avoid the bear” and to call the police department, telephone (707) 449-5200, if a bear is seen acting aggressively.

American black bears are found throughout North America and as far south as central Mexico.