Security officers keeping an eye on a bear who ran up a tree in Chilliwack are asking the public to stay away from the area.
One of possibly two bears that were seen wandering around downtown Chilliwack Thursday morning was cornered by Griffin Security after it ran up a tree, on Thursday, Oct. 9.
A bear was also sighted in the morning at Salish Park by the Chilliwack Library, Freshco and Dairy Queen. A resident also saw the bear in the Chilliwack General Hospital area as early as 4 a.m.
At about 12:30 p.m., a bear sauntered down Brett Avenue, beside The Chilliwack Progress office, and down to a business on Hodgins Avenue. The bear climbed up into a tree, and was being watched by members of Griffin Security.
It is pretty “ramped up” right now, said Brian Goldstone with Griffin.
People have been stopping right in the middle of Hodgins Avenue despite the fact it is not visible due to the evergreens, and Goldstone is asking people to move along.
“There is nothing to see here,” Goldstone said.
There is a bear in a tree in the area of Chilliwack General, on Hodgins Avenue. Here is video from the scene. Link to developing story in thread. #bears #chilliwack #breakingnews pic.twitter.com/Ch6NYoPcU8
— Chilliwack Progress (@TheProgress) October 9, 2025
There have been numerous calls to Conservation about bear sightings, according to Goldstone and people commenting on social media. By 2 p.m., there was no indication that a Conservation officer would be attending.
A bear was also spotted on the same day, wandering around Second and Third Avenues, which is near the downtown.
Bear sightings have ramped up in recent weeks, as they are getting ready for winter.
The City of Chilliwack has a lengthy section on bears on their website, as they are the top species reported to Conservation officers in the Fraser Valley Regional District.
According to WildsafeBC, a total of 1022 wildlife reports were made to the Conservation Officer Service in the FVRD for the year 2024. The top three species were black bears (807 reports) which is lower compared to 2023 (1209 reports), cougars (56 reports), and coyotes (30 reports). Chilliwack had 212 calls for black bears, of those 95 were bear sightings, 76 were food conditioned, seven were damaged properties and 4 were bears in back yards.
The Progress has reached out to the Fraser Valley Regional District for comment. This story will be updated when more information is available.
