After bear cub climbs tree outside school, all the kids are stuck inside

When the ranger’s away, the bear cub will play — and the kids will stay locked in school.

At least that’s what happened Tuesday in La Crescenta, where law enforcement and wildlife personnel spent the afternoon monitoring a bear cub hanging out in a tree in front of Crescenta Valley High School, powerless to compel the creature to go home.

As authorities determined what to do, Glendale Unified School District officials ordered the high school and nearby La Crescenta Elementary to have everyone shelter in place. Classes continued as scheduled on each campus, according to district spokesperson Kristine Nam, but students couldn’t step foot outside.

Though the district occasionally sends out warnings about bears and mountain lions, Nam said it was the first time she had seen a bear-induced shelter-in-place order since she joined the district nine years ago.

Law enforcement reported the situation to the state Fish and Wildlife Department — to no avail. Spokesman Steve Gonzalez lamented that his office’s bear wrangler was sick and that his department did not have on-the-ground personnel to help.

He reported on Wednesday morning that the cub was no longer perched in the tree. He believed the animal had reunited with its mother overnight.

But the cub succeeded in creating some headaches.

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After being stuck indoors for the day, La Crescenta Elementary students were let out at their regularly scheduled 2:40 p.m. release time. Crescenta Valley High students had to make their way out a back exit once dismissed.

There are about 2,950 students total enrolled in the two schools.

Nam said she’d received texts from parents saying the bear was one of a group seen in the area that included a mama bear and another cub.

Deputies from the L.A. County sheriff’s Crescenta Valley station first received reports of a cub around Crescenta Valley High at 1 a.m. Tuesday.

Sheriff’s Lt. Michael Gonzalez said his office reported the creature not only to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, but also to a local Humane Society.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t receive assistance from either,� Lt. Gonzalez said. “We don’t have personnel trained for this situation or have equipment to handle or transport animals back to their homes.�

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Lt. Gonzalez said deputies could respond with lethal force only in a life-and-death situation.

The Fish and Wildlife’s Gonzalez said his department did send an environmental scientist to the school to help with the bear’s reunification with its family and eventual return home.

He confirmed that the bear was not tagged, so the department was not certain where it lives, though it’s likely the nearby national forest.

“I wouldn’t say this is a highly uncommon occurrence,� the Fish and Wildlife officer said.