Bear wanders into California teacher's classroom

Aug. 12 (UPI) -- A teacher at a California school was preparing for the upcoming start of the school year when her classroom was visited by an intellectually curious black bear.

Elaine Salmon, a teacher at Peak to Peak Mountain Charter School in Pine Mountain Club, said she left her classroom to make some copies in the office and returned to find a black bear occupying the room.

Salmon closed the bear inside the room, trapping her cellphone in the classroom.

"I went back to the office to call my husband, Ian," Salmon told KERO-TV. "My first thought was, is it gonna do any damage? I have a brand new floor and I already have my decorations up."

Salmon's husband arrived and held the door open, allowing the bear to escape.

The teacher said the only damage was to an earthquake kit.

"We usually have an earthquake kit where they have snacks just in case of an emergency and he went through that," Salmon said.

School officials said they are now planning to replace the door handles with more bear-resistant opening mechanisms.