The bear is affectionately known as Berry or Victor to locals. (Supplied: CDFW)
In short:
A 238-kilogram bear was found hiding in a home's crawl space to escape the LA wildfires that tore through Altadena.
It took a team of eight experts and nearly 24 hours to remove Berry the bear.
What's next?
He was given a welfare check and safely transported to the Angeles National Forest.
A home owner who was forced to evacuate due to the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires has returned to find a black bear hiding under his property.
The home owner, Samy Arbid, told CBS News that the unexpected visitor was found when utility workers called to restore power to his Altadena home.
However, they were unable to access the entrance point of the crawl space as it was blocked.
Experts determined a trap would be the best way to remove the bear. (Supplied: CDFW)
In a bid to work out why, Arbid said they put a ring camera with a light under the crawl space.
What they found was a 238-kilogram bear, affectionately known as Berry or Victor to locals.
The community believed he lived just around the corner in Eaton Canyon, which is where the wildfires started.
"I think during the fire he pretty much stayed in there," Arbid told CBS.
"I think he was scared."
Kevin Howells, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), spent nearly a day leading a rescue team's successful effort to remove the bear safely.
The bear was tempted into a trap with tasty food. (Supplied: CDFW)
As Berry was too big to tranquillise and drag out, wildlife experts baited him into a trap with tasty food.
This included some apples, peanut butter and rotisserie chicken.
Within minutes, the bear walked into the trap and triggered the door.
Berry was transported to the Angeles National Forest, where he was given a welfare check and strapped with a collar before its safe release.
Berry the bear was safely released just after midnight. (Supplied: CDFW)
The Altadena home has since been bear-proofed and the crawl space securely boarded up to prevent animals from entering.
The Eaton Fire destroyed nearly 10,000 structures and killed 17 people.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire, the Eaton Fire is 99 per cent contained.
