With neighborhoods throughout the Caldor Fire evacuation zones beginning to repopulate, there's a new concern about what residents might find when they return home.
"When you come home and if you find that it looks like a window's open or door's open and something has accessed into your house, don't rush in and definitely don't block that spot," said Tahoe bear expert Toogee Sielsch.
"It might be a wild animal that has made ingress into your house because that spots the only way they're going to know to get out of your house," Sielsch continued.
South Lake Tahoe Police Chief Dave Stevenson said 15 of the 17 calls they received for break-ins this week ended up being bear break-ins.
"They know when people aren't home, so they've taken advantage of that. We've definitely seen an uptick in bear break-ins to garages and some homes," he said.