A black bear was caught on camera taking a dip in a backyard spa to beat the heat in a foothill neighborhood of Los Angeles County Sunday afternoon.
A La Crescenta-Montrose resident captured video of the bear wandering through their backyard on Cloud Avenue at 4:52 p.m., just before the bear plunges into their spa.
“Bear alert!!” the resident wrote on social media. “He’s in our spa!!”
The video shows the bear lounging in the water, paying no mind to a barking dog on this hot day in Los Angeles.
The resident said the bear was in the spa for less than five minutes before it went on its way.
Heat waves across Southern California have driven the animal to seek relief in unusual places.
Residents in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains have said that bear sightings are more frequent since the Eaton Fire, which burned more than 14,000 acres in the Altadena area in January of 2025.
It’s unclear if the same bear is seen in all three videos. The bear or bears seen in the videos appear very comfortable in residential areas.
On July 17, a bear was caught on camera climbing a wall at a Glendale home on the 3300 block of Paraiso Way, down the street from Valley View Elementary School.
The June 16 sighting saw a different visitor entirely.
A bear was seen strolling through a business parking lot before running across Foothill Boulevard near the intersection of New York Avenue. Cars were seen slowing down along the major thoroughfare as the bear made it safely across the street.
In recent months, bears were also spotted in Altadena, Encino, Sunland and near the Hansen Dam.
Experts have noted the uptick.
The bear or bears seen in the videos appear very comfortable in residential areas.
In the viral moment that sparked renewed conversation about bear-human conflict in Southern California, the homeowner on Cloud Avenue captured what residents have increasingly witnessed: a large black bear coolly treating a private backyard spa as its personal escape from scorching temperatures. The encounter lasted only minutes, with the animal lounging in the spa around 4:52 p.m. on Aug. 8, before departing calmly into the neighborhood. The video and social media alerts spread quickly, drawing attention to the broader pattern of bear intrusions across the Los Angeles foothills throughout the summer months.
Wildlife officials have attributed the spike in sightings to habitat loss from the deadly Eaton Fire earlier this year, which ravaged thousands of acres and destroyed homes across Altadena and surrounding communities.
No people were injured during any of the sightings.