Bear, cub tranquilized after wandering into desert solar plant

Authorities had to rescue a bear and her cub after they dug under a fence and got trapped inside a desert solar energy plant Thursday in Kramer Junction.

The bears were spotted inside the fenced-in facility off Highway 395 among a field of solar panels, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Sgt. Matthew Griffith.

The sighting prompted employees to briefly evacuate the solar plant.

Griffith said the plant’s security team was “concerned since it was unusual to see a bear this far south in the desert.”

Authorities with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife followed the bear and her cub until they were able safely tranquilize them, after which they tagged the bears and moved them to an unpopulated area.

Also Thursday, more than 150 miles northwest of Kramer Junction in Visalia, a 150-pound bear was tranquilized after it was found running near an elementary school.

Bear sightings are becoming more frequent in the Barstow area due to the prolonged severe drought, Griffith said.

A lack of food and water, he said, have forced bears into populated areas.

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