The Seal Beach Pier and beach were closed “due to lightning in the area,” authorities said Wednesday afternoon.

The Seal Beach Police Department announced the shutdown on social media about 1:45 p.m.

“We will advise when we reopen!” police said in a Facebook post.

No injuries or damage were reported.

The lightning was spotted off the Orange County coast as a weather system made its way across the region.

Forecasters said a slight chance of thunderstorms will continue in the area through Wednesday evening, while the overall storm system is expected to extend wet conditions into the weekend.

Wednesday’s rain was part of the first wave of the two-pronged system, with coastal and valley areas expected to receive between a quarter- to half-inch of rain by Thursday morning, with up to an inch falling in the mountains.

“These storms have frequent lightning and strong wind gusts up to 40 mph, and may produce showers of small hail,” the National Weather Service said.

Conditions are expected to dry out on Thursday before the second wave of the system moves in on Friday. The second wave is expected to be stronger and wetter, with rain anticipated to continue through Saturday.

Source : ABC7

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Autumn means bears are trying to bulk-up ahead of the colder, more desolate months of winter. This means Oregonians should take measures to avoid run-ins with these powerful creatures.

An estimated 30,000 black bears roam Oregon, and fall finds them especially active. In places where people live, trash cans, compost piles, barbeque grills, and even pet food bowls can draw in a hungry bear. 

Beth Quillian of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said pre-hibernation eating habits of bears are impressive. 

“Kinda this power-eating marathon that we call hyperphagia,” she told KLCC. “So it’s really important that if you don’t have a bear-resistant can, then just taking your garbage out right before pick-up is a great way to decrease the chances that a bear might get into your garbage. But if your trash provider provides bear-resistant cans, definitely check that out.”

People should never feed bears, or give them regular access to food or food waste. After a bear gets acclimated to an area populated with humans, the outcome is often bad, mainly for the bear.

Source : KLCC

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Pacheedaht First Nation is celebrating an agreement that begins to right a historic wrong by returning stewardship of a stretch of beach to its rightful owners.

Pacheedaht First Nation Chief Jeff Jones and federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree signed an agreement Wednesday returning the stewardship of Middle Beach to the Pacheedaht First Nation.

The stretch of land known as Middle Beach in Pacific Rim National Park near Port Renfrew is an important shoreline area in Pacheedaht’s traditional territory.

“We are very grateful to be moving in the direction of ownership of our land through Parks Canada,” Jones said following the ceremony.

The federal government added Middle Beach to Pacific Rim National Park in 1988 without formal consultation or recognition of Pacheedaht or their systems of traditional governance. An accompanying regulation continued prohibiting Pacheedaht’s managing of the area or the harvesting of resources.

“Today is an important day as once again Pacheedaht will be able to take care of and use our lands at Middle Beach,” Jones said.

“For many years we have been separated from these and and this agreement with Parks Canada represents an important step forward while we finalize our treaty. The cultures and identities of Indigenous Peoples are rooted in ties to this land.”

Jones noted that for more than 100 years, the government stole the land and severed those ties. Still, signing the agreement will begin to reverse the act of violence as the stewardship of Middle Beach is given back to the Pacheedaht.

“I am honoured to have been a part of the ceremony held today and look forward to the important work ahead,” Jones said.

Jones thanked Parks Canada for working together to find a way to recognize Pacheedaht’s responsibilities to these important lands until ownership comes back through a treaty

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Parks Canada has been in active treaty negotiations with the Pacheedaht First Nation since 1996.

The federal government acknowledged in an agreement in principle in 2019 that Middle Beach is part of the Pacheedaht First Nation treaty settlement lands and would be transferred to the Pacheedaht once ongoing treaty negations are completed.

“It is a step towards healing from the harm caused by policies that led to separation from ancestral lands, culture and identity,” Anandasangaree said.

“The ceremony today exemplifies the efforts from Pacheedaht First Nation and the Government of Canada to develop shared understandings and to forge a path forward based on shared goals.”

Pacheedaht Nation and Parks Canada have created an adaptive approach to return land use and stewardship to First Nations.

Parks Canada administers more than 90 per cent of federal lands, with nearly half of those traditionally used and cared for by Indigenous Peoples.

Many heritage places administered by Parks Canada have transitioned over time from a past where Indigenous Peoples were separated from their ancestral lands and waters to the present-day context, where Parks Canada and Indigenous Peoples strive to work collaboratively.

Source : Ashcroft Chace Creek Journal

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Driving around Rolling Fork, you can’t miss the wooden bear statues dotted throughout the town.

A new bear is added each year during the Great Delta Bear Affair, an annual festival that started in 2002 to honor the 100th anniversary of Teddy Roosevelt’s bear hunt in Sharkey County.

This year, however, the bear carving tradition looks a little different.

When the devastating EF-4 tornado hit the small town of Rolling Fork in March 2023, the bears were among the damage. Some lost arms and legs, others lost faces. One was split clean in half. One was never found.

Usually, Mississippi artist Dayton Scoggins carves a new bear during the festival. This year, he carved it beforehand, so he can spend the festival driving around Rolling Fork repairing the damaged bears.

Scoggins carved the new bear during this year’s State Arts Conference in Jackson hosted by The Mississippi Arts Commission.

Over the course of two days, Scoggins brought the bear to life outside of Thalia Mara Hall. Guests of the conference could watch Scoggins as he took a log provided by Cypress Depot and transformed it into a sculpture full of movement and life.

The log was delivered Wednesday morning, Oct. 11, and by the next afternoon, the bear was complete.

The new bear, a construction worker holding a saw in one hand and a hammer in the other, represents rebuilding.

The theme matches the overall theme of this year’s festival: “Bearly there but building back.” Meg Cooper, coordinator of Mississippi’s Lower Delta Partnership, said this year’s festival will honor those who lost their lives in the tornado.

Friday morning, Oct. 13, a crew from Yates Construction loaded up the bear and drove it 80 miles north to Rolling Fork where it waits for the Great Delta Bear Affair on Saturday, Oct. 28.

Scoggins has been carving bears for Rolling Fork for about 15 years.

“It’s been a long time. Every year they have a festival and we would carve them a big bear and they’d place them all around town,” Scoggins said.

The one thing the bears all have in common is a pair of glasses and a distinctive mustache. The specs and facial hair symbolize Teddy Roosevelt, who during his presidency in 1902 visited Sharkey County and refused to shoot a captured, injured bear.

The incident inspired the birth of the Teddy Bear.

“In the spring, they got hit with that massive tornado, and it damaged just about all of them,” Scoggins said. “Hopefully this year, instead of doing the carving at the festival, we’re going to go back and repair it as much as we can.”

There are 17 sculptures placed throughout Rolling Fork, with some lost over the years due to weather. Since 2004, the bears have been a staple of Rolling Fork culture. 

“They became a great tourism attraction for us and public art. We just love the public art. You can’t miss it when you come into town,” Cooper said. 

Cooper said people know Rolling Fork for the bears. After the tornado, she said people would call her and first ask her how she was. The next question would be about the bears. 

“They first said, ‘Are you OK? Is your house OK?’ And then they’d say, ‘What about the bears?’” Cooper said. 

Two of the sculptures depict people, Teddy Roosevelt and Holt Collier, the president’s guide during the bear hunt. Both the Collier and Roosevelt sculptures lost guns in the tornado. The Roosevelt sculpture lost a hand.

Scoggins has had to repair damaged sculptures before, but this job will be the biggest undertaking yet. He will work Wednesday, Oct. 25, through Saturday, Oct. 28, repairing the battered bears. 

“What we’ll do is we’ll get a piece of cypress wood, kind of match the grain back as best we can, glue them back on and try to carve them back out ,” Scoggins said.

The lost sculpture, a tree with three bear cubs climbing it, stood in front of the town’s post office. The concrete slab base remains intact. The new construction bear will sit on the slab in front of the remains of the post office, which was destroyed in the tornado. Cooper said they may relocate the bear in the future. 

The Rolling Fork brochure includes a map of all the bears and information about the buildings they decorate. Cooper said the town is waiting to see how many bears and buildings they can repair before reprinting the brochures. 

The festival will have its normal activities including live music, arts and crafts, food and kid’s activities. They will also have an archeologist giving tours of some of the nearby Native American mounds which are part of the Mississippi Mound Trail. 

Happening again this year is the burger eating contest hosted by Chuck’s Dairy Bar. During the tornado, employees of Chuck’s Dairy Bar took refugee in the restaurant’s cooler. Even though the restaurant has not yet been rebuilt, the burger bar will provide burgers for the contest, grilled on-site.

Cooper said even though Rolling Fork has a population of fewer than 2,000, the “small-town festival” usually garners about 4,000-6,000 visitors. 

Despite the normal festivities, the Great Delta Bear Affair will look a little different this year. One difference is there won’t be any fireworks to end the week, since the organizers don’t want the festival to go until dark this year, Cooper said. 

Cooper said the streets remain relatively undamaged, which is good since most of the festival’s activities take place on the street. 

“The streets are there, they’re OK. The buildings are gone. We won’t have shade where we would normally have some shade and some trees and all,” Cooper said. 

Other usual activities will look a little different. The festival normally includes a youth education clinic to teach kids about environmental conservation and bears. The clinic usually takes place on the Theodore Roosevelt Refuge Visitor Center lawn, a space currently occupied by the town’s temporary courthouse. The education clinic will take place inside the building. 

Source : Clarion Ledger

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It was another nasty day Wednesday, November 15, 2023 along the gulf coast, with wind and rain persisting. No one was complaining about the much-needed rain, but the strong winds kicked up the surf along Alabama’s beaches. Red flags were flying for the second straight day.

Most of the day, the rain that did fall in Orange Beach was light. Strong winds generated by a low-pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico did create quite a sight along the coast. Heavy surf pounded the beach all day.

“This right now is kind of our preliminary wintertime swells, so we’ll get bigger surf in the wintertime,” explained Beach Safety Division Chief for the city of Orange Beach, Brett Lesinger. “Nobody’s hopped out to surf yet today. It’s kind of blown out from the wind but the surf is pretty big.”

No sooner had Lesinger spoken those words than one adventurous soul decided to take on the conditions as a challenge for his paddle boarding skills. It ended up being a short-lived adventure.

For others, it was exciting enough just to step out to the beach and take in what Mother Nature was dishing out. Michael Thompson snapped a few pictures to remember it by.

“Oh, there’s big waves out there today. It’s nice. I come out here and take pictures all the time,” Thompson said. “I like it with this temperature just as much as I like it during the summertime. Sometimes, it’s a lot better walk on the beach, just like it is right now.”

As long as the cold wind, rain and clouds linger, lifeguards aren’t too worried about anyone besides surfers entering the water. That could change as the weather begins to clear.

“We’ll one hundred percent have red flags up for the remainder of today and most likely tomorrow as well,” Lesinger said. “Friday’s about a fifty-fifty shot. It could be single red flags or downgraded back down to yellow. As the surf calms down, that’s when those rip currents will begin to form.”

It’s when the sun peaks its head back out, that swimmers will want to test the waters, beach safety officials said. Lesinger wants to remind beach visitors that there is limited lifeguard presence on the beach this time of year, so take the necessary precautions.

Source : Fox10

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Japan is seeing the number of people attacked by bears in fiscal 2023 increase at an unprecedented pace, recent government data showed, with people warned of more encounters as the wild animals forage ahead of hibernation in a lean year for nuts.

A total of 109 people were hurt, two fatally, between April and September, mostly in the northern part of Japan’s main island Honshu, according to the Environment Ministry’s data. The figure is the highest for the same period since fiscal 2007 when the government started such monthly statistics.

A black bear at a residential area in Kanazawa, Japan on Sept. 29, 2010. (Kyodo)

The current record for the highest number of people wounded by the animals, which include Asian black bears and Ussuri brown bears, is 158 in fiscal 2020.

Fifteen prefectures saw victims during the six-month period from April, with around 70 percent of cases in northeastern Japan, according to the ministry’s preliminary data released in early October.

By prefecture, Akita had the most victims, with 28 people, followed by Iwate and Fukushima with 27 and 13 people, respectively, according to the data.

One person died in August in Iwate, the first death by a wild bear in the prefecture since 2009. Another fatality occurred in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, where brown bears roam.

Additional cases in October continue to boost the number of victims, renewing the record for Akita and Iwate prefectures, which now have at least 30 victims each.

On Oct. 18, a woman was found dead in a suspected bear attack in the city of Toyama, central Japan, prompting schoolchildren to be on guard.

Local governments say a possible reason for the unusually high number of encounters in Japan this year could be that the bear cub population grew as their diet of beech nuts and acorns were plentiful last year.

At the same time, this year is seeing a poor nut season, forcing bears to venture to greater areas, including near human habitats, to seek food as they prepare for hibernation.

Among recent wild bear incidents in October, two people in their 60s were attacked in Akita Prefecture. A woman was injured as she got out of her car at a road in Kazuno, while a man was hurt in a mountain forest in Odate near his residence.

Meanwhile, four people had been attacked in a residential part of the city of Akita. The area, which was surrounded by rivers, was an unusual place for a bear to appear, according to an expert.

More than half of victims in Iwate Prefecture were attacked in or near human dwellings, with around half suffering severe injuries.

The Iwate prefectural government’s nature conservation division says around 20 percent of victims had taken protective measures against bears, such as wearing bear bells.

It said bear encounters can occur “anywhere” and called for people to take proper precautions and be vigilant.

Source : Kyodo News

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The first of two homes on the verge of collapse on a stretch of the North Carolina Outer Banks prone to extreme erosion was demolished Wednesday by the National Park Service.

Funded by the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the service purchased the Rodanthe homes last month as a part of a pilot program to combat erosion on the Outer Banks, which are particularly vulnerable to climate change and sea level rise.

Five homes have collapsed in Rodanthe since 2020, with the most recent collapse in March 2023. Past collapses have caused highway closures, over 10 miles of debris and an expensive cleanup process — the service’s Cape Hatteras National Seashore program has stepped in multiple times to carry out additional cleanups and restore the beaches. 

The removal of both threatened properties is contracted to cost $72,500 and the land will be open for public use after the beach is restored. Clean-up includes removal of the house pilings, as well as the houses’ septic tanks.  

The beach house demolished Wednesday had formerly been owned by Eric Saks, who had named the building “Mermaid’s Kiss.” Saks, who had bought the property in 2021, was the one of the first homeowners to sell to the National Park Service. 

“It’s important to us that this iconic house, which has been a part of our lives, is removed safely to avoid any harm to our precious coastal ecosystem,” Saks wrote in a post on Facebook. “While this decision came with a significant financial loss and a heavy heart, we believe it’s a step in the right direction for the environment we’re so passionate about protecting.”

David Hallac, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, helped to coordinate the sale of the homes and was present at the demolition Wednesday. 

“It’s a pilot project, so something we’re trying out to mitigate the impacts of these threatened structures to the resources of Cape Hatteras seashore and our visitors,” said Hallac. “The work to remove the house today went very well. It was successful, it was done very safely, and they may actually take the second house down tomorrow. They’ve planned this very carefully in ensuring that this happens at low tide and that the wind and wave conditions are matching their criteria to get this done.” 

According to Hallac, these threatened homes can have an impact on the seashore and visitors long before they fall into the sea.

“Pieces and parts can fall off the houses anytime because they’ve been hit by waves. The houses are in the middle of … a habitat that’s used by shorebirds and sea turtles. And even when the house is in reasonable condition, the septic systems, the septic tanks and the drain fields oftentimes get exposed or break open and cause public health threats,” he said.

Once the house collapses, it can create a large debris field that could take weeks, if not months, to clean up. 

“This situation occurs in a much more controlled manner. The debris can be removed in a short period of time by professionals on the beach very quickly,” Hallas said.

Demolition of both homes and beach restoration are expected to take no more than 30 days. The two homes being demolished had been prioritized as they were closest to the ocean and had a high possibility of collapse. 

One of the goals of the demolition is to evaluate the feasibility of a larger program addressing threatened oceanfront structures. 

“We are interested in considering scaling the program up to acquire more homes and restore those beach areas,” said Hallac. “But we want to carry this pilot project out completely first, analyze how everything went, and learn what went well and what can be improved.”

Source : Courthouse News Service

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — After two bear cubs died due to an illness related to a bacteria, one of the other sick bears has taken a “sudden” turn for the worse.

Appalachian Bear Rescue reported that Thumper’s breathing became labored on Saturday afternoon. A video was sent to the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine (UTCVM) for review after one of the curators noticed Thumper’s condition. Two veterinarians came to ABR and examined the bear.Man facing assault charge after shooting in downtown Morristown

“Thumper’s prognosis isn’t good; the curators are doing everything they can to keep him eating and comfortable. Thumper is back on oral antibiotics but decided he doesn’t like sardines. Curator Cole supplied him with a variety of foods to see which one appealed the most: cubby bearysauce seems to be in the lead,” wrote ABR.

• Curator Cole arranged bowls of food to determine what Thumper will eat. Bearysauce seems to be the winner. (Photo …
• Thumper Bear took a sudden turn for the worse. The vets came to ABR to help. Curators Bailey and Kamryn …
• Kamryn assists Dr. Cushing. (Photo via ABR)
• Dr. Waligora “thumps” on Thumper’s sides to dislodge fluids in his lungs. (Photo via ABR)
• Suctioning Thumper’s lungs produced little fluid. The doctors gave Thumper antibiotics, pain and anxiety meds, and an …
• Thumper and Tamale sleeping together (Photo via ABR)
• Curator Cole arranged bowls of food to determine what Thumper will eat. Bearysauce seems to be the winner. (Photo …
• Thumper Bear took a sudden turn for the worse. The vets came to ABR to help. Curators Bailey and Kamryn …

Thumper Bear took a sudden turn for the worse. The vets came to ABR to help. Curators Bailey and Kamryn assisted.(Photo via ABR)Read More »

The doctors gave him antibiotics, pain and anxiety medication, and an appetite stimulant. Once he was fully conscious, the bear was returned to his enclosure and reunited with Tamale. They slept together for most of the night.Unclaimed Oak Ridge Powerball ticket worth $50K

ABR plans to continue to monitor Thumper and make sure he eats his medicine.

The cause of the illness that killed Flapjack and Burrito, and made four other cubs sick, including Thumper and Tamale, may have been found. Veterinarians from UTCVM believe that a specific strain of bacteria found in the gallinaceous birds such as domesticated chickens and turkeys could be responsible.

The two other sick bear cubs, Martha Washington and her sister, Betsy Ross, are doing well according to ABR. The curators are monitoring their breathing.

Source : Wate

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At Two Georges Waterfront Grille in Boynton Beach, the water tends to come up when the rain comes down. In past storms, it’s been made clear the tides and flooding combined can make for a lot of water.

Kevin Kudlinkski, the restaurant’s head of operations, said Wednesday morning’s high tide has him more at ease.

“We prepare (for) a lot of things,” he said. “All of our electrical equipment we raise up off the ground. Sometimes the flooding will come up through the sidebar area.”

He said they also monitor the water during off hours via cameras.

“We monitor it,” he said.

WPTV also spoke to Chip Sheehan, another familiar face, whom WPTV’s Tory Dunnan met the night of Hurricane Nicole.

“I’ve never seen the tide as high as it is now,” he said that night. “No, it’s nerve-wracking.”

Sheehan is back at it, making sure his boat is protected.

“It’s our livelihood,” he said. “This is what we do for a living.”

Sheehan, who is the owner of Chips Ahoy Charters in Boynton Beach, pointed to the rising water levels during the morning high tide.

“The water was well over here, almost onto this dock over here,” he said. “I think it’s just from how much wind, how much water, it is blowing in from the ocean.”

Sheehan said it’s a community effort.

“Kind of a cool fishing community. We kind of check on each other’s boats, stay on a group chat,” he noted. “I’ve seen boats sink here. I’ve seen boats get stuck under the dock.”

On the residential side of the Boynton Harbor Marina, George Casey, who said he’s lived here for 12 years, takes it all in stride.

“When you are by the water, winds kick up, the water gets pushed into the lagoons. It’s common,” he said.

The next moment to watch will be high tide. That’s when Sheehan said he’ll be monitoring water levels.

“You know you just have to keep an eye on everything, see what this next tide is going to be,” he said.

Source : WPTV

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PETERSBURG, Alaska (WFLA) — A small black bear gave Alaskan authorities quite the run around last week when it unexpectedly showed up at a grocery store, frightening shoppers.

Local news outlet Alaska’s News Source said state troopers, two Wildlife Troopers, and units from the Petersburg Police Department were called to the local IGA when a black bear was spotted wandering the aisles.Travis Kelce merch in Tampa? Star tight end’s shirts make its way to Florida amid romance with Taylor Swift

The small bear led officers on a chase throughout the store as they attempted to catch the elusive animal.

Bodycam video shows the officers using a human steel catch pole as they chased the cub through aisles of fruit and vegetables until they were able to corner him where the shopping carts were located.

Once the bear was caught, officers escorted the bear away from the store and put him into one of the trooper’s vehicles.

Justin Freeman with the Alaska State Troopers told Alaska’s News Source that the cub was ultimately euthanized for a variety of reasons.

The bear cub unfortunately had to be euthanized, Justin Freeman with the Alaska State Troopers told Alaska’s News Source. He said the decision was made along with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for a “variety of factors.”Winter Haven murder suspect caught moving body, gets detained by civilians, deputies say

“The bear was small and emaciated for this time of year. It did not have any measure of fat that would have sustained it through the winter,” Freeman said. “It was also abandoned, for unknown reasons, and therefore did not have any way to significantly acquire resources to recover from its condition.”

He added that the bear would not likely be able to handle the stress of transportation to a holding facility, and no known facilities had a placement for a black bear.

Source : WFIA

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