Two firefighters, a police officer and two others were transported to a Pasadena hospital with multiple bee stings
The Pasadena Fire Department warned of an influx of buzzing bees on Colorado Boulevard between Bonnie Avenue and Sierra Bonita Avenue, near Pasadena City College, around 4:00 p.m. from Thursday.
A large colony of Africanized bees had made a hole about 25 feet, in the air under a canopy of a Howard Johnson hotel, located at 1599 E. Colorado Blvd., authorities said.
"Something activated them, some activity, noise, vibration … it's hard to say what," Dave Williams of the Los Angeles County Beekeepers Association told KTLA.
Williams, a professional beekeeper, estimated that there were between 30,000 and 40,000 bees on the scene.
The bees stung five people, including two firefighters, a police officer and two civilians, who were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, according to the department.
One of the first to respond was stung six times upon arriving at the scene to try to help civilians, authorities said.
The images showed two firemen climbing a ladder truck to help remove the hive.
Initially, smoke was used to try to calm the bees, according to Williams. But when that didn't work, firefighters sprayed carbon dioxide and foam into the hive to kill the bees, authorities said.
"We don't like to kill bees, we are beekeepers," Williams said. "But in a situation like this, where public safety is a matter of concern, we have to take care of the public."
Initially, the entire block was closed and authorities had said to avoid the area, but since then all roads have been reopened.
