You heard it from the California Highway Patrol first: Don’t set your car on fire to "keep the bears away."
Officers arrested a man in Truckee Thursday morning after fielding a report around 5:30 a.m. about a car ablaze on Interstate 80 near the Farad off ramp by the California-Nevada border, according to SFGATE.
Police arrived on the scene to find a man in his 30’s complaining about "the bears" and they deduced that he set his own vehicle on fire to repel the so-called bears, CHP-Truckee Officer Carlos Perez told the website.
"Listen, we have bears in the area," Perez said. "But there were no bears nearby."
With the car in middle of flammable hillside terrain, officers quickly extinguished the blaze before it spread beyond the roof of the car.
The unidentified man was booked for arson and being under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance.
The best way to scare bears is to make loud noises and wild motion, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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