Port Alberni, B.C. woman goes into ‘panic mode’ after finding bear in her carport

A Port Alberni, B.C., woman said she had the fright of her life after a bear surprised her in the carport of her home as she was leaving for work.

Becky Levesque was about to begin her midnight shift as a support worker on Wednesday when she heard a strange noise in the carport.

She turned on her cellphone’s flashlight and saw nothing, so she started walking towards her vehicle.

“That’s when the bear made that crazy noise,” she told Global News. “When I heard the noise I just went into panic mode and I just ran into my car.”

Levesque shared a security tape of the incident that captures the bear’s loud growls. She made it into her car just before the bear dashed out of the carport, but she hit her head on the way in.

“I just was in shock. I actually yelled in my car and that’s when the bear came out from my carport,” she said. “So my ear is bruised, but I’m okay and the bear’s okay.”

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According to Levesque, the bear is a regular in the neighbourhood and always on the prowl for garbage bin scraps.

She keeps her recycling, compost and garbage bins locked up in the carport, so the bear’s mission on Wednesday was unsuccessful.

“I was not expecting it so now I know to be a little more aware of my surroundings,” she said. “All my neighbours, they know now too, and I’m going to keep the light on in my carport.”