Black Mountain woman recounts bear breaking into her home

A black bear broke into Clay Milton’s Black Mountain home while she was inside, turning a mountain wildlife problem into a household safety emergency in Buncombe County. Her account lands in a county already dealing with a cluster of bear break-ins in Haw Creek and Black Mountain, where wildlife officials said six black bears, including two cubs, were euthanized after separate home intrusions.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission said it has been receiving reports of increased human-black bear interactions in Asheville and Buncombe County after Hurricane Helene. Officials linked the rise to damaged homes and businesses, unsecured trash, unattended food donation drop-offs and rotting food that gave bears easier access to calories in storm-hit neighborhoods. Buncombe County and the City of Asheville both have ordinances restricting feeding wildlife, but the agency said unsecured food attractants remain the main driver of most calls to the NC Wildlife Helpline.

The larger pattern stretches well beyond one street or one house. NC Wildlife said black bear populations are increasing and bear range is expanding in North Carolina, while more homes are being built in occupied bear range. The result is more contact between people and bears in places like Black Mountain, Haw Creek and residential parts of Asheville, where what used to be seen as a woods problem now shows up on porches, in driveways and inside homes.

The timing is also working against residents. NC Wildlife said spring is when black bears become more active and stay active through summer and fall, and bear sightings often spike from Memorial Day weekend through early summer. The agency said transient bears have been observed in every county in North Carolina, including large cities, and warned that bears may den in close quarters such as under decks, in crawl spaces, vacant homes, sheds and brush piles.

For Buncombe County homeowners, the prevention message is concrete: keep garbage and recycling secured, remove bird feeders when bears are active, store pet food and snacks indoors, lock grills away when not in use, and keep doors and windows closed and latched. NC Wildlife said it does not typically trap or relocate bears, putting the burden on prevention in neighborhoods where the line between wildlife habitat and home is growing thinner by the year.