Bears in California are getting too close for comfort, even interrupting this football practice in Truckee. He's just going to go across. It's all right. The black bear is seen crossing the field as a crowd stayed out of its way. Sightings like this are becoming more common in the Golden State. California's Department of Fish and Wildlife reporting a 160% surge between 2021 and 2022, averaging 1,600 encounters. The hotspots? Around Lake Tahoe and the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, where there's been a recent uptick in Sierra Madre. This week, I saw them three times, and it was late at night. Some bears are getting so bold, they're coming into homes and are reluctant to leave. You're Get out of my house.

Get out of my house, Mr. Bear.

Sometimes, they manage to leave behind a path of destruction in the search for food.

Only one at a time, guys. One at a time. You're going to bust the fence. Don't break my fence. Don't break my fence.

It's getting so bad. Last year, the town declared the animals a threat to public safety.

Incredibly comfortable around people. They've been born here now at this point, so this is their neighborhood, too, and they don't feel threatened by us, and we're a pretty reliable food source.

An exclusive report by NBC affiliate, KCRA, revealed a deadly black bear attack last year in Downeyville, located roughly 2 hours outside Lake Tahoe.

Life officials in Sierra County are on the look out right now for a bear because that bear ate a woman after she had died.

State wildlife officials confirming that a bear killed 71-year-old Patrice Miller, the first ever confirmed death in the state from a black bear. The bear was euthanized, but the disturbing event has put the community on alert.

I don't want every black bear that steps foot into my community to be euthanized. Primary concern is public safety of my local citizens and my visitors that comes to our communities.

Wildlife experts say black bears typically avoid people, but here's what to do if you see one.

If you were to yell at them or clap your hands, they should be running away, going up a tree, things like that.

Learning to coexist as these types of encounters become the new normal. Kathy Park, NBC News.

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