Don't forget that we had several pretty good ice storms here this year in PA. Ice loves to cling to and weigh down evergreen trees in particular and the soft wood is prone to weight damage. A couple of these storms were followed by pretty heavy winds as well.
I'd bet a dollar to a donut that all you saw was damage caused by the weight of ice. We have a couple pine trees here in the back yard that sound exactly like what you describe and they were broken under the extra weight and wind. Winds are generally stronger in the tunnels that pipelines form.
Not bears.........just some garden variety weather.
