A mother black bear and her cubs spent hours trapped inside a covered water storage tank near La Verne, California, on Saturday, August 29, 2026, before California Department of Fish and Wildlife crews and firefighters drained the tank, widened an opening at the top and lowered a ladder so the bears could climb out safely.
Key facts
- Where: A covered water tank (cistern) near Claremont Wilderness Park in the San Gabriel Valley, near La Verne, California, east of Los Angeles
- When: Saturday, August 29, 2026
- Who responded: California Department of Fish and Wildlife, La Verne Fire Department and Los Angeles County Fire Department, including its Urban Search and Rescue team
- How many responders: Roughly 40 firefighters, according to local reports
- How they got in: Investigators believe the bears squeezed through an opening in the tank’s concrete wall reported at around a foot wide
- Possible explanation: A Yahoo News report said officials speculated that the family may have entered the tank seeking water during a regional heat wave; the available reporting did not independently corroborate that explanation
- Outcome: All the bears got out safely and were reunited; officials described them as exhausted but reported no injuries
How the bears got trapped
The bears were found inside a large concrete water tank, or cistern, near Claremont Wilderness Park in the San Gabriel Valley, east of Los Angeles. People on the trail heard sounds described as howling coming from the tank and alerted authorities.
Investigators believe the bears squeezed in through a narrow opening in the tank’s concrete wall, reported at around a foot wide, and then couldn’t climb back out. A Yahoo News report said officials speculated that the family may have entered the tank seeking water during a regional heat wave; the available reporting did not independently corroborate that explanation.
The rescue operation
Crews drained the water from the tank, then cut and widened an opening at the top of the structure and lowered a ladder inside so the bears could climb out on their own.
“The first cub came out, then the second cub got out, and then finally the mother,” a Los Angeles County Fire Department official said, describing how the animals emerged one at a time before the family ran off together into the surrounding wilderness. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said all of the bears were safe; officials described them as exhausted from the ordeal but reported no injuries. Video shared by the fire department, showing a bear climbing out of the tank and bounding into the brush, was picked up widely by news outlets.
Why the cub count varies in reports
One cub had already slipped out through the original opening on its own before rescuers arrived and waited nearby, reportedly up a tree, while the mother and her remaining cub or cubs stayed trapped inside.
That split is why the cub count varies in reporting. Accounts that say two cubs were freed by the rescue crew are counting only the ones still in the tank, while accounts that say three cubs in total are including the one that had already gotten out on its own. Either way, the mother and her cubs were reunited once everyone was clear of the tank.
What happens next
Fish and Wildlife officials said the tank, which is used by the La Verne Fire Department, is now being secured to keep bears or other wildlife from getting trapped inside it again.