Bears are all the same. A quick download and scroll through of NextDoor will show you bears love roaming neighborhood streets, rummaging for trash, and causing mischief. It’s a typical scene online, where surveillance footage of bears raiding houses, stealing dumpsters, or just getting in the way prove them to be much smarter than the average…you get it.
Except last week, when a bear fell onto a patrol car and caused a fire. Like Yogi Homer Bear mauling Ranger Ned before it, a random bear in northern California surprised the shit out of police officer last week who was responding to a call of a drug overdose in the community of Orleans. According to authorities, a bear apparently fell onto the hood of a deputy patrol car and smashed through the car’s windshield, causing it to swerve into an embankment, roll over on its side, and catch on fire. The flames then spread and the fire department had to come out to help.
The bear? Per the The California Department of Transportation: “Don’t worry, the bear also fled the scene.” Smart guy. The deputy’s okay, too, but probably felt shaky as shit when they realized that a bear plowed through their car and caused their car to basically explode.
The department took some photos for Facebook, of course. Unfortunately, there isn’t any surveillance footage, but you can get the gist of the damage done.
The department also wants to remind people “to stay alert while exploring the beautiful highways and nature of District 1,” since “bears, elk and deer are just some of the critters sharing” the city’s roadways. Hopefully the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has a memo posted internally about this, too.