Jamie Kirk was running on a trail in La Verne when he heard the California bear water tank rescue unfold in a concrete cistern at Marshall Canyon Regional Park. By late Saturday night, a mother black bear and her three cubs had been pulled out of the water-filled tank and declared safe.
Three Glendora residents found the bears around 8 a.m. Saturday near the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park’s 5-Mile Loop Trail. Kirk said, “We heard this howling, whimpering noise and couldn’t figure out where it was coming from.” He said, “And as soon as we look in the hole, there’s the mama bear staring at us.”
Marshall Canyon Regional Park cistern
Kirk said he climbed about seven feet to the cistern opening and saw the mother bear inside. He said the tank was full of water and that she had to stand up and lean on the wall to stay out of it. One cub got out on its own before help arrived, leaving the mother and two cubs trapped until crews could reach them.
Crews from Urban Search and Rescue worked with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to drain the tank and widen the small vent hole the bears had fallen through. They put a ladder inside so the animals could climb out, and video shared by the Fire Department showed one bear hoisting itself to the top of the tank before jumping into some bushes.
La Verne heat wave
The rescue happened as La Verne reached 97 degrees Saturday. Kirk said the bears had been in the tank for at least 12 hours, and he added, “They could have been in there a couple days for as long as we know.” He also said, “It was enough where the mama bear was moaning loudly trying to get help.”
All three bears were declared safe around 10 p.m. Saturday. Officials said the animals may have entered the tank because they were thirsty, and The Department of Fish and Wildlife said the water tank is now being secured to prevent bears or other wildlife from becoming trapped there in the future.
The rescue leaves one practical question for anyone using the park trails: how the concrete cistern became accessible enough for a bear family to fall into it. For now, the immediate fix is already in motion, with the tank being secured before another animal reaches the same opening.
