Bears come out of the forest surrounding the foothill communities in LA regularly. There was one tonight on the news, being chased around by the sheriffs and animal control. plus a helicopter. Other than jumping into a swimming pool for a couple of minutes, he or she just wandered around the neighborhood then disappeared back into the woods. That is as close as most people will come to a bear here in CA.
There are two ways to see a bear in CA. Go to Yosemite/SEKI, or go to LA. The rest of the time you see (at most) the hind end of the critter as he beats it for the next ridge/into the trees.
Most of the coastal range has no bears at all south of SF. North of it there are occasional sitings. Bear cans are required for the very wild and remote Lost Coast.
I am encouraged to carry by the sheriff's office, not because of bears, but because our searches sometimes cross low elevation areas where marijuana gardens are. Plus, we do occasionally look for people who don't want to be found. I haven't bothered - most of the times our teams have a deputy attached to them with his mace, gun, etc and volunteer searchers are mandated to stay out of the way.
The rest of the time - FORGET IT. Guns are wasted weight. I'm not a hunter but I grew up in that culture. I'm entirely pragmatic about things. If I'm going to use it I'll carry it. I'd never use either a gun or bear spray anywhere in California. Last thing I'd bother with. Much more important to pay attention to the real killers - water and rocks.
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