"It opened up my freezer!" Bear wanders into five Sierra Madre homes in two hours

Neighbors in Sierra Madre were rattled Thursday after a bear intruded into four homes and one garage before being diverted by police into the wildland, north of the city. 

The bear was reported in the northeastern part of the city between 12:30 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. The Sierra Madre Police Department responded to multiple calls of bear activity, requiring an emergency response, according to Management Analyst James Carlson of the City of Sierra Madre. 

Only one of the homes was occupied at the time the bear was there. 

After the last incident, officers were able to successfully divert the bear away from residential neighborhoods using loud sounds from a horn. There have been no additional reports since. 

The Department of Fish and Wildlife was sending a representative to the area. 

"It was a very polite bear," said homeowner Laurie Devault after the bear barged through her screen door Thursday. "It just opened up the freezer and took my packaged chicken. The neighbor filmed it with it hanging from its mouth."

Devault added that the bear dropped the frozen chicken and the police handed it back to her. 

"The City would like to remind residents and visitors to call 911 anytime they feel threatened by wildlife or wildlife enters a home," said Carlson. 

There were no reports of injuries. The bear was not harmed.