A California man says a black bear charged at him outside his Lake Tahoe vacation home over the Fourth of July holiday, forcing him to fend off the animal with bear spray in an encounter captured on video. Cortlandt Koerwitz of Sacramento told KCRA 3 that the incident began when his daughter spotted the bear rummaging through a garbage can inside the home's garage, and it escalated within seconds after he went outside to investigate.

Koerwitz said he grabbed the bear spray and approached the garage, only for the animal to suddenly rush towards him; startled, he discharged the spray, some of which blew back into his own eyes before the bear turned and ran off. He noted that while bears frequently roam the Lake Tahoe area in search of food and often get into bins or unlocked vehicles, he considered this aggressive behaviour unusual. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife says black bears are common throughout the Tahoe Basin and urges residents to secure rubbish and other food attractants to reduce conflicts.