LILLOOET, BC — About 160 firefighters battling a blaze in the British Columbia Interior have had to pull out of their camp after they were subjected to what the B.C. Wildfire Service calls “persistent bear activity.” The wildfire service says the bears threatened the safety of staff “within and around” the camp near Gold Bridge, about 100 kilometres west of Lillooet, prompting the decision to quit the camp Wednesday evening. It says conservation officers are working on plans to safely return the firefighters to continue their battle against the Downton Lake wildfire. Scavenging bears have been a problem in other B.C. wildfire zones, with authorities in the Shuswap region in the Interior collecting refuse and refrigerators in hopes of keeping the animals at bay. …“Approximately 160 personnel are presently hosted at T’it’q’et First Nation and Lillooet municipality facilities”.