CHICO, Calif. -- A baby bear is recovering after suffering third-degree burns on his paws and an eye injury that were sustained during a wildfire.

A Cal Fire forester discovered the bear cub Friday in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

Adam Deem said the animal was clearly frightened after surviving the Moon Fire.

"He just kept scratching me, but I just kept holding him close to me," Deem said.

Deem stumbled upon the bear cub in the area devastated by the Moon Fire.

"I was driving down the road through that area, and he just crawled out in the trail. I stopped to take a picture, but then I saw his burnt paws," Deem said.

Once Deem was able to calm the cub, he returned to the Shasta County Fairgrounds to get medical treatment for the baby bear.

"I don't know much about bears, but with humans we would be worried about shock, dehydration, heat issues and infection," Shaun Partlow, a physicians' assistant at the treatment center, said.

The cub's rescue team isn't sure how long he's been separated from his mother.

But he's become very fond of one human in particular.

"He's like my dogs; he's just a little baby, but yeah, I think we have a connection," Deem said.

Misa Skeen, a water tender, said she noticed the obvious affection the cub has for Deem.

"He's actually kissing him; I think he really likes him," Skeen said.

The next stop for the cub will be a wildlife rehabilitation center in Sacramento.

The original Smokey the Bear was a cub that was burned in the El Capitan National Forest in New Mexico.

Story courtesy of KNVN.