ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - There have been multiple sightings of bears in residential areas around our hometowns in the last week. With this, Roanoke Police are reminding people of the importance of bear safety.

“We’ve had a very wet summer, which has been really good for the bears. Going into fall, we always start getting reports of bears. They’re hungry and bears, they look for an easy meal. An easy meal is sometimes people’s trash,” said Lt. William Drake of the Roanoke Police Department’s Services Unit, which includes its animal protection team.

Over the weekend, the RPD received multiple confirmed reports of a black bear roaming the Grandin Court area. RPD and the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center advise that there are several key safety measures to follow when interacting with bears

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