Bear Breaks Into Colorado Home And Starts Fire With Residents Inside

Officials in Colorado said a bear broke into a home and “unintentionally” started a fire with the residents inside, and had to be euthanized.

The Crested Butte Fire Protection District said a bear broke into an occupied home in Mt. Crested Butte overnight on Aug. 19, and despite causing “extensive interior damage” and sparking a kitchen fire, no one was injured.

The bear first forced its way into an exterior door then broke through a large glass pane to enter the home. After tearing through the entryway and living room, knocking over shelves and furniture, the bear made its way to the kitchen. There, the animal “tore apart the refrigerator,” dumped a trash can, and broke several other items.

During the bear’s rampage through the kitchen, a wooden dish-drying rack was tossed onto the electric stovetop, “which was turned on at some point during the incident,” the fire department said. The dish rack caught fire, and smoke began filling the home.

The two residents who were home at the time called 911 from a bedroom. The bear scratched at the bedroom door, and “became increasingly erratic and aggressive as the smoke detector activated,” officials said.

Crested Butte Marshals and Mt. Crested Butte Police Department officers were the first to arrive at the scene, a found the bear “standing on its hind legs, attempting to break through the living room’s front window, with smoke and flames visible in the kitchen behind it.”

Due to the active fire, limited access to the residence, and the bear’s aggressive behavior, officers euthanized the bear then extinguished the kitchen fire.

Firefighters were en route to the scene at around 1:16 a.m. when they learned the bear had been euthanized and the fire was believed to be extinguished. They arrived to confirm the fire was out, assess the structure, and ventilate the smoke.

“CBFPD, the Crested Butte Marshals, and the Mt. Crested Butte Police Department have not previously responded to a call involving a bear starting a fire after entering a home,” the fire department said.

Investigators say the residents had no food, trash, or other attractants stored outside or in vehicles on the property. The residents reported that a bear had entered their home at least once before.

The deceased bear was removed from the scene by Colorado Parks and Wildlife personnel. Officials say bear encounters have increased across the state this summer as drought conditions have pushed bears into human areas in search of food and water.