MARTINEZ, Ga. - There were reports of a black bear sighting along Stevens Creek Road from Timberwolf Trail to Hunter Ridge on Monday. On Tuesday, several sightings were reported along Furys Ferry Road.

A bear was seen by Ron Jones of the Columbia County School of Ballet, walking across their yard and into the woods at 639 Furys Ferry Road Tuesday morning.

Also, a bear was seen crossing Furys Ferry Road near Jones Creek and also near the Earth Fare grocery store.

Columbia County officials say they've contacted the Department of Natural Resources. This is the second bear sighting this month in Columbia County.

Columbia County officials are asking people to stay away from the bear and let it just move on it's own out of the area.

DNR advises that everyone should back off and provided these tips for handling bears in residential areas:

1. Never pursue or chase on foot or in vehicles in an attempt to chase it from the area
2. Give plenty of space and an avenue of retreat
3. Homeowners should remove dogs from the area (keep penned up) so the bear doesn’t run up a tree
4. Remove all dog and cat food from outside on porches or yards
5. Put trash out on the day of pick-up by garbage compan

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