Jade Fever (2015–…): Season 5, Episode 10 - Playing with Fire - full transcript

Claudia and crew are determined to keep mining despite wildfires burning around their claim, until things take a turn for the worse and they have to race to get out.

(pensive music)

- I'm going out of my bunk house.

- [Narrator] At Two Mile camp,

in Northern British Columbia.

- Because we made it
here with the bunk house,

I get to move out of the tent,

which is gonna make my
mornings a lot warmer.

- [Narrator] After living
in a first-aid tent

for two months, Josh is
finally getting an upgrade.

- It's been pretty cold
this season, so far,

waking up here every morning.



It's not exactly thermally-dynamic.

- Bunk house made it in one piece.

Oh yeah, look at that quilt.

- Underwear here.

(grunting)

That's gonna be so sweet.

(exhales)

- [Narrator] With the bunk
house finally in camp,

they've got to turn their
attention back to mining.

The end of summer is approaching.

And the pressure is on to find jade fast.

- With 100 days of mining,
every single day is critical.

We have to make up for lost time.

- So you're talking, like, cut, cut,



and then drill another
hole up, and then cut, cut.

- [Narrator] In pit one, Guy
and Josh are getting ready

to work on the 90-ton boulder.

Three weeks ago, they
knocked down this huge rock.

- Be very delicate.

(crumbling)

- [Narrator] It could be the
biggest find of the season.

- Jing-a-ling, jing-a-ling.

I just wanna line you up for
the first six or eight inches.

- [Narrator] But first, they
have to drill core samples

to check the quality of the jade.

- Right here, and then
a little bit like this.

(drilling)

- So it's really hard
to go by core samples

in a single core, because the pocket

of jade might only be this big,

and you drill right down through it.

It's amazing, and you have
this giant rock around

with all this garbage.

(drilling)

So, Guy's really adamant to
drill more and more holes

in the is big rock.

And that'll give us a
better idea if it's quality

is continuous through
this rock, or if it's only

in one little pocket.

- [Narrator] The drilling
process will take time,

something they're running short on.

- I figure 60 hours.

(drilling)

- It really puts a lot of pressure on us,

because we're touching the jade.

It's right there.

We have to dig, we have to mine,

We have to spend time there.

That's the problem.

- [Narrator] But that's
not Claudia's only worry.

(ringing)

- Hello?

Is Smokey there?

- A warning from Jade City to Dease Lake.

- Are they on fire-watch or anything?

- Yes.

- Really.

The wild fires are so bad
in northern B.C. right now,

that we have three raging
fires literally around us.

Everything changes when
there's a forest fire,

because you don't know how close it is

and how quickly it can jump.

We're gonna be on high-alert,
watch what's going on,

but continue mining.

We might have to have an
emergency evacuation ourselves

so it is really scary
times for us, in mine town

(crashing)

- Oh my God.

(engine roars)

- This is gonna be the
million-dollar rock.

(hooting)

- [Claudia] Jade makes
people do crazy things.

(flashing)

- [Josh] You wanna give her?

- [Narrator] Josh has been
drilling the 90-ton boulder

for several hours.

(pumping)

- There's a little chunk in there.

- [Narrator] And the first core sample

is ready for inspection.

- Holy smokes, that's (beep) nice.

- [Claudia] So Josh, you just finish?

- Yup, it's very, very green, and solid.

- [Claudia] So these are on the very top?

- [Josh] Yup, that's the
top of the hole down there.

- [Claudia] This is very good.

- [Josh] This rock might
change the game here for us.

- [Claudia] Damn, that's nice.

- [Narrator] The early
sample looks so good

that Claudia wants to bring this boulder

down to the saws, right away.

- [Claudia] Let's cut this up.

Let's get it down to camp.

- Okay, now, hold on.

- Here's another question, though,

are we bringing the wire saw out here?

- Only way we can cut this, right?

- [Narrator] The rock is
far too big to be hauled

down to camp.

- We have nothing that can move it.

We managed to tip it over, but
that's all we can do with it.

So now we have to bring
the saw to the rock.

We have to bring up the water tank

to feed water to the saw.

- You want to bring the water
up here, to cut this up here?

- Yeah, yeah.

- To haul up enough water to cut this,

is gonna be a lot more problem, is it not?

- It's a bare minimum of
1,000 gallons a day has

to come up here.

- [Narrator] Water helps
the diamond wire glide

and keeps it cool as it cuts.

(buzzing)

- So, how do we get the tank up here?

- The big tank down there has to come up.

And probably the best way
is to set it on the six-pack

and haul it to the top,
because it sits up there.

If we have to haul
water, we'll haul water.

- Get the tank, put on the
six-pack, bring it up here.

Okay, let's go.

- [Narrator] Claudia wants
the crew to work fast.

The wildfire threat has
her concerned their days

at camp could be numbered.

- Whoa, Gary, look at the sun.

- [Gary] Smoke-sun, yeah.

- We need to pull that jade out.

Just in case the fires
totally lock us out of mining,

we can't afford to waste time.

We don't know how quickly it
can be right at your doorstep.

(coughing)

- There's smoke and my eyes are watering.

All over B.C., the smoke is bad.

There's fires everywhere.

(flash)

- [Narrator] There are
more than 400 wildfires

now raging across British Columbia.

As the blazes spread, and
surround the Two Mile mine site,

dense smoke blows in from all directions.

(flash)

- It was weird, you can't see.

You're always looking behind your back

in case there's little flames coming.

- It's never been like this,
ever before, in the 35 years

that we've been here.

Northern B.C. is on fire.

It's scary, but we're way
behind, so we've made a decision

that we're staying here.

We'll be watching every day.

We'll be watching all the time.

(country music)

- Here, park in the bush.

- There ya go.

- [Narrator] The next
morning, the crew get ready

to move a water tank up to the pit

so they can start cutting
the 90-ton boulder.

- These are chains?

- They don't need a big one.

(clanking)

- The guys are gonna take the six-pack up,

put the water tank over there on it,

take it to the top,

then start wire-sawing
that big hole there.

- [Narrator] But the tank
is so heavy, they'll have

to haul it up the hill empty, and fill it

with water at the top.

- Empty water tank, with
skins, maybe 2,000 pounds.

But full of water, it's not
set-up to be lifted, at all.

(buzzing)

- It's gotta ghost.

- [Narrator] Today,
Josh is getting a lesson

on the excavator.

- It's got some wiring issues.

- I'm definitely hyper-aware
of how old this thing is.

To run excavator and dozer,
I just lack experience.

And the more opportunity
they give me to gain

that experience, the more valuable

of an employee I'm going to be.

- Everybody clear around here, Gary?

There's nobody around me?

- No, you're good.

- I represent myself well
and communicate respectfully

to Gary, he'll teach me
absolutely everything he can.

So that's why I love working with Gary.

- Pick it up, on, then pick
the back up, push it on.

Too much of a pain-in-the-ass
to pick this thing.

- Wanna give it a longer chain?

- No, I think he'll get her.

(clanging)

- [Josh] Lift it right up?

I can't see you, Gary.

- I'm trying to go high.

Get this end, up here.

- Before the water tank gets empty,

you're draggin it on.

You're never going to have
it perfect, all the time.

- [Josh] I was trying to go way out here

so I could bring the ass in, way over,

and then put it on its...

- Put that big-ass end up.

- No worries.

- Your tracks.

- I was trying to go that way, but...

- No, you track this way, there you go.

- What do you want?

This is good?

- Josh can be hot-heated, of course.

He's 23-years-old.

- Do you want me to turn, again?

- [Gary] Yeah.

- [Josh] But then you told me

that when I was going where I wanted to

that I should...

This is gonna be a rough (beep)ing job.

- Keep coming.

Oh, I can see where the stress
levels go like this lots.

(crushing)

- And if it lifts off there,
it's coming right into me.

- This is why I was trying
to make it perfectly straight

when I came on (sighs).

(flash)

- Will it come down now?

No, no, it's just, let your
chain down, see what it does.

- [Narrator] Under
smokey skies at Two Mile,

Josh is struggling to load
a 2,000-pound water tank

onto six-pack.

- We'll hook you up to the
back and you stick it up there.

- Josh likes to do things his way,

and doesn't like it if we give him advice,

or if we want it done our way.

So it's a very complicated thing.

- [Josh] You're giving me directions now?

- Yup.

He wants everything to
be lined-up, perfect,

straight, level, blah, blah, right?

- You might have to put your
bumper right against the back

of the tank, just so it don't slide.

- Oh my God.

- It can't slide, your
bucket's against it.

(clanging)

(laughing)

- There you go.

(clanging)

- Go up until it flattens out.

There you go.

Now you just push it on.

- Coming in, Guy.

(clicking)

- Yeah, as long as you don't
take off backwards, we're good.

He was getting a little
stressed-out because he was thinking

it was gonna fall off and
whatever, but we just talked him

through it and got it loaded.

It went perfectly fine.

- Get the back up and start walking up.

- [Narrator] With the
heavy tank finally secured

on six-pack, Guy hauls it up the hill.

- Holy, the road up to
the pit is super steep,

like 16%-steep.

Everything's like this at Two Mile,

so you always gotta be on your toes.

- Is he coming?

- [Claudia] Yes.

- He's fast.

I knew the old girl could climb her.

Perfect.

Now we gotta decide where we want it.

- Yeah, anywhere there,
just flatten that out

and it'll be perfect.

Boy, she's smokey today.

- Really bad (mumbles) can't even see it.

- We're having some
really bad days right now

with the smoke, but at the same time,

we're concerned about our mining season.

We lost many days and many weeks.

It almost feels like we didn't
get nothing done this year.

So finger's crossed that
the fire don't come our way.

- [Narrator] A pilot who's
been working in the fire zone

stops by with an update.

- [Gary] So how close is
that fire to Dease now?

- All the fires are
telegraphed to join yesterday.

It's another bill and another
guard, just pitch-black,

just like midnight.

- When the helicopter shows up,

he tells us that the fires are expanding.

- [Narrator] A forest
fire is edging closer

to the only road out of their mine.

- And if we can't drive up
because the roads are closed

because the fire is hitting our road,

we absolutely could be
stranded at Two Mile.

Ane we could be totally
cut-off from everybody else,

including Jade City.

- [Narrator] But for now,
they're going to stay

in camp and monitor the situation.

- We'll be updated as much as we can,

between the helicopters.

We'll know what's going on,

because I'm trying to keep everybody safe.

- I don't feel that the
fires are a risk to us.

They're still not to Dease
Lake, so I don't feel

that the forest fire will get
onto the road at this time.

So we carry on mining.

- [Robin] Now we wait for this to fill.

- [Narrator] Robin and
the crew get back to work.

They have to shuttle water up to the pits

in two smaller tanks,

to fill the big holding
tank they dropped off.

- We're filling up some water tanks.

Get 'em up top, fill that
big tank, then that's ready

for the wire saw to go up
and start on that other rock.

- [Narrator] But six-pack could run

into trouble hauling the
heavy load up the steep hill

to the pit.

- Water is 10 pounds to the gallon.

- Yeah, we got 20,000 pounds right here.

- It may work out.

- She's full, captain.

(whooshing)

- So do you think the tanks
needs to be farther ahead,

or will it work okay?

- For all's I know.

- All the tracks will
be on the back wheels.

Might wheel you up that hill (laughs).

We shall see.

- Crashing, not gonna be
a problem, it's power.

(churning)

I think she's gonna be lacking
power with this much weight,

because now we're climbing
the side of a mountain,

not just on a road.

We're climbing the side of a mountain.

It's gonna be a challenge.

(pensive music)

(splashing)

- [Robin] Are you kidding me?

(churning)

Nope, she ain't gonna do it, man.

(beep)

(flash)

- Well, I'll try this dip one more time.

Gotta lift the front
tire's off the ground.

- [Narrator] Gary makes another attempt

to climb the hill with 20,000 pounds

of water on the back of the truck.

(squeeking)

(engine roars)

- I'm loaded so heavy
that when I start going

through the hole, and
when I start climbing,

our front tires come off the ground.

And as soon as it did that, it spun out.

So now I can't steer.

I don't have traction, I'm out of power.

Nope, she ain't gonna do 'er, man.

(beep)

- [Josh] I'm on my way down.

- [Narrator] This time it's
Josh coming to Gary's rescue.

- Guess you shoulda have had the tanks

a little bit further ahead, it
wouldn't have been a problem.

Yeah, if the water tanks are right up

against the headache rack,

it would've made a huge difference.

(slamming)

I would've had weight on the front tires.

Now we know.

We haul another load,
and he's gotta pull right

to the front.

Yup, straighten out, Josh.

- [Josh] Yup.

(engine roaring)

- I think it'll be fine
going up if I go slow.

- You think so?

- Until we hit that last spot.

- [Narrator] But Gary's
not out-of-the-woods yet.

There's one more steep section ahead.

- Pig's back's gotta D2466
coming, best engine's ever made.

So you're feeling good about it.

But there's always, in
the back of your mind,

thinking, maybe it might not make it.

(crushing)

- You're gonna have to
pull me, Josh, no power.

Once again, that's what the
Cat's for, pull me up the hill.

- [Josh] Yeah, that was
an interesting morning.

- [Gary] At least we made 'er.

- [Narrator] There's
still more to be done.

Now they have to transfer the water

into a larger holding tank.

- Guess we shoulda brought a ladder.

- I don't need no ladders.

- Well, you go off the
back and skid, I guess.

- Oh, yeah.

(clicking)

These line's are warmed up!

- Is it pumping?

- Yeah, oh yeah.

It's working.

- [Narrator] The spreading
wildfires have the crew on-edge.

- Are we gonna get to see
the sun for the first time

in three days here?

- Well, it's trying, very smokey.

But we're not sure which
fire's we're getting,

from the south fires or the north fires.

They don't know where the
smoke was getting here.

- Having the fire so close, the
extensive smoke is an issue.

So now it's a lot worse.

- [Narrator] For Claudia,

the smoke is becoming a bigger problem.

- I'm not well, nope.

There's so much smoke in there.

You can't see, you can't breathe.

You can't sleep at night properly.

All you smell is burning.

It's uncomfortable.

I'm going to need to go lay down.

- Claudia is sick, especially
with the smoke and everything,

she's not doing good at all.

- It's not a good situation
at Two Mile right now.

(flash)

- [Narrator] Claudia has
fallen ill, and Robin wants

to chopper her back to Jade City.

- If you want to go, go,
we'll deal with this.

- [Robin] Well, you gotta go.

- You kinda got no choice.

- I didn't realize how bad it was.

She's really not feeling
good, so there's no way

that she can quad out
or dry up in a pick-up.

(beeping)

Hey, it's Robin calling.

We're at camp and we gotta get out.

- [Narrator] Robin checks
with the helicopter company

to find out if flights are
grounded due to the heavy smoke.

- The visibility's poor.

They can't fly, you're not getting out.

Okay, yup, I'll come with her.

Thank you.

- [Narrator] Luckily,
there's a chopper near by.

- Okay, how about some water?

She needs to go out.

We have an opening that he can fly,

it's still gonna be slow,

because he has to go where he can see.

So it'll be a longer trip.

You wanna get him the
land-reader if you can.

Steve, do you have a copy?

- Go ahead.

- Can you land right
here by the bunk house?

Claudia's pretty sick and
I don't think she can get

up to the pad.

(whooshing)

(beep)

- [Narrator] A wildfire is moving closer

to the Dease Lake landing, their
only way back to Jade City.

- If the forest fire gets too close,

and burns across the
road, we can't get out.

The fire is getting extremely close.

- [Narrator] Robin makes the call.

It's time for everyone to leave camp.

- The window is there for us to get out,

and we have to go, right away,

or we aren't going to get out.

- Okay, let's get the (beep) out of here.

We don't wanna leave,
but we have to leave,

because we don't wanna get caught.

- [Narrator] Robin and
Claudia will chopper out,

while the rest of the crew drives

to Jade City.

(slamming)

- I'm on the load to (mumbles)

so I should bring the fuel tank.

- We're heading home.

- It's time to evacuate the mine site.

(beep)'s getting real.

- Get in.

- Come here.

I'll see you in town.

(whooshing)

- Gotta be ready, gotta be totally ready.

It's a very scary reality
in British Columbia nowadays

that we're burning up.

- Okay, get outta here, bud.

(engines roaring)

- I think we had eight fires around us.

It's not looking good right now.

We'll see what happens.

- [Narrator] Next time, on Jade Fever,

- Wow, it's burning right on the hillside.

- Everybody is getting ready
to evacuate Dease Lake.

- The threat for us is
the road to get to camp.

- Two weeks of lost time with this fire

has cost us a lot.

- This is a monster (laughs).

- Am I gonna make it?

Oh, boy, it's gonna be tight.

- This is a nice rock.

- It'll be worth a lotta money.

- The potential, you think.

(crashing)

- That is one huge rock.

(flashing)