Bear cub badly burned in blaze returns to wild

SEATTLE - A bear cub found badly burned last summer in the largest wildfire in Washington state history has endured a long recovery but is now back in the wild.

Rich Beausoleil with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife says officials released the 2½-year-old cub nicknamed Cinder on Wednesday morning in a central Washington forest. He says the bear was in good shape and "running like a champ" near Wenatchee.

Cinder was found under a horse trailer after the Carlton Complex fire, her paws so scorched that she was pulling herself along by her elbows.

Now healed after stints at a California wildlife center and the Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation center near Boise, she weighs about 125 pounds.

Cinder was released with an orphaned cub she had bonded with during rehab.