Jade Fever (2015–…): Season 5, Episode 11 - Risky Business - full transcript

After losing two weeks of mining to the wildfires, Claudia and Robin take the risk of returning to Two Mile and gamble on the opening of a new pit. Scrappy Larry heads into the burned area in hopes of rescuing his abandoned skidder.

(intense music)

- Wow, it's burnin'
right on the hill side.

- [Narrator] Wildfires are raging

across Northern British Columbia

and they're closing in on Jade City.

- I've never seen anything
quite this serious

and this close to all the
communities that we live around,

we're not protected by a big
city or a fire department.

So, we just gotta keep our awareness up

because everything we own
could be burnt to the ground.

- [Narrator] Two weeks ago.



- [Josh] That's mind
blowing, this is crazy.

- [Narrator] The forest fires
chased Claudia and her crew

out of their Two Mile mine.

- I'm gonna load the jade off,

Josh is bringin' up the fuel tank,

we're headin' home.

Have a safe trip.

- It's just a disaster everywhere.

- Here's the fire, right here beside us.

Right over that knoll and
you can see just black-ness

up ahead of me and the
smoke is going directly

to Jade City.

If the wind is carrying
the smoke that direction,

the fires being carried towards Jade City.



- [Narrator] Back at the yard,

Robin unloads the rocks hauled out

during their last minute escape.

- Brought back the jade
that we pulled out.

Come ahead.

So we have all the jade
out of Two Mile here now.

Good.

But, right now I'm concerned
out fires for goin' back,

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

- Oh my God!

So it is really scary then?

- [Narrator] Claudia receives
bad news from Dease Lake,

where the trail into their mine begins.

- Right now, Dease Lake is
on watch for evacuation.

We've a raging fire about
100 kilometers down the road,

it's really looking bad here right now.

Oh, is it smoky.

Hi guys, so the fires touched each other

and went from 800 to 7,000 hectares.

Two kilometers an hour
is the rate of the fire.

You don't know if it's gonna hit you,

when it's gonna hit you, a fire is awful.

Everybody is getting ready
to evacuate Dease Lake,

it's really out of control right now.

It looks really, really bad.

I don't know that we can
get to our mine site,

I don't know how bad the smoke is gonna be

and it's not just the mining that we lose,

we could lose our home
as well, it's scary,

this could be devastating for us.

(upbeat music)

- Oh my God!

- [Man] This gonna be
the million dollar rock.

- Yee hoo!

- [Claudia] Jade makes
people do crazy things.

Hello?

- [Narrator] Morning in Jade City.

- Yeah?

Okay.

- [Narrator] Claudia checks
in with the wildfire service.

- [Claudia] Okay, bye bye.

- [Narrator] The fires are
still active but under control,

for now, they could flare up again,

blocking the road into Two Mile.

- It's a tough decision
to decide whether we stay

in Jade City and wait for the
fire to be totally contained

or whether we take a chance
and go a little bit early

and go back into mining.

It's getting late in the season

and we're under huge pressure
to find jade right now.

Hundred days is going by quick
and two weeks of lost time

with this fire has cost us a lot.

- [Narrator] Robin and
Claudia arrive at Guy's Cavern

to talk over a new plan.

- [Gary] Why're you guys here?

What's happenin'?

- [Claudia] We bring news.

- [Narrator] They want to take the gamble

and return to camp.

- So, we would like to
head in tomorrow morning.

- Robin and Claudia wanna go back in,

fair enough because you know what?

We've already lost weeks, like,

we're way, way, way behind.

Well, I mean we're
concerned about the fire

but at the same time we're concerned

about our mining season.

- Two weeks off because
of the smoke and the fires

doesn't make a very good
season so we should be mining.

- We'll fly in and then
we'll meet you in camp.

So, tomorrow morning, seven?

- Yep, cake.

- Should be a easy trip, should be.

- [Larry] All aboard.

- Okay, get over Coco.

Get over.

- [Narrator] With news that
the fires are contained.

- Ah yeah, now this is
the way I like to travel.

- [Narrator] Scrappy Larry is heading out

on a rescue mission.

- Well, we're goin' into
Glenora and Henry and Dwayne

are comin' in, we're gonna
try and fix the skidder

and get it out of there.

- [Narrator] A month ago.

- [Larry] There we go.

- [Narrator] Larry brought a skidder

for heavy-duty hauling.

- [Larry] I don't like the looks of this.

All the oil went out of the motor,

so we had to get it off the road.

What a bummer.

Hey, how's my puppy?

Love my puppy.

- [Narrator] He left the
skidder near Telegraph Creek,

an area that's been
devastated by wildfires.

- [Larry] I've heard there's
equipment up there burnt,

houses are burnt but I got no idea

if it's reached my skidder,

cost me darn near an arm and a leg

and hopefully it's still there.

- [Man] Here we go.

- [Narrator] At the Dease Lake trail head,

Claudia's crew is
heading back to the mine.

- We're ready to go,

guys are going in the Six-Pack
and the Bedford and quads,

me and Robin, we get to fly.

I don't think that flying's
gonna be any easier

because we have a lot of smoke in the air.

- [Narrator] The first
section of road into Two Mile

passes through the fire zone.

- [Claudia] I'm extremely nervous.

I like to push my luck but
I don't like to push my men

to do something dangerous
and that's exactly

where we're standing right now.

We're taking a risk, is it worth it?

That's a tough call.

(intense music)

Josh, do you have a copy?

Josh?

Does anyone have a copy for Claudia?

- [Narrator] With wildfires
still smoldering in the area,

Claudia and her crew are risking a return

to their mine site.

- Gary, you got a copy yet?

Where are you?

Every decision that I make

could effect everybody in my group.

Guy, you got a copy?

Guy?

Being responsible for them
is a huge amount of pressure.

Guy, you're not on this channel, are you?

- I'm just comin' up line hill there

where the road splits.

- [Claudia] Oh, thank God.

- [Guy] Just startin' to
hear you guys go by here.

- [Claudia] Gary and Josh,

do you guys have a copy of us?

- Yeah, I can hear you Claudia,

we're just in front of Guy, not too far.

- [Claudia] Hallelujah.

- Comin' over, right here.

- [Claudia] There they are.

- [Josh] Woo!

- [Claudia] Smoky up here.

- [Josh] Smoky down here, too.

- [Claudia] I feel so bad for you guys.

- [Josh] No, you don't.

- Okay, let's go.

- [Narrator] South of Jade City.

- [Larry] I've never seen it like this.

- [Narrator] Larry and his crew
are driving through an area

devastated by the forest fires,

on the way to find out if
his skidder was spared.

- [Larry] Well we we're kinda awe struck.

It's almost like you're
going through a war zone,

the whole friggin' country was burnin'.

Oh wow, look at that.

- [Henry] This is a monster!

(Larry laughs)

- [Narrator] His skidder
survived the wildfires.

- When you buy toys, you buy the best!

(all laugh)

- [Narrator] But now, they
have to get it running.

- We gotta drop the fan out.

- [Dwayne] Yeah.

- The front seals gone on the motor,

we're losin' all our oil so
we got to try and fix it.

I don't know how oil these things hold.

20?

- [Henry] Oh, probably.

- We'll see if we get her runnin'.

We're just wingin' it here.

Startin' to show on the dip stick.

- I like it.

- [Larry] Always an adventure,

hopefully everything's gonna work out.

- [Henry] Okay, this thing'll
start, let's have a listen.

(engine splutters)

- Keep your fingers crossed.

(engine starts up)

We're runnin'.

I think we got it fixed,
it's lookin' really good

but, get her home, huh?

I deserve a smoke for that.

(all laugh)

- [Claudia] There she is.

- [Narrator] Claudia and Robin
finally return to Two Mile.

- [Claudia] Home sweet home.

- [Narrator] Luckily,
the fires never reached

their mine site.

- [Claudia] Oh no!

- [Narrator] But two weeks away from camp

has caused other problems.

- (sighs) all the meat
smells, it's rotten.

Everything, please don't
make this the same thing,

it's thawed (sighs)

Everything is destroyed.

We had run out of
propane, don't know when,

lost most of my freezer
and my fridge full of food.

The only thing that
stayed frozen was this,

I think that smells good,
it's almost still frozen.

I'm sure we'll find a
way to figure this out

but it's just one more
problem to deal with.

- [Robin] Oh, that's chicken!

- [Claudia] (beep) my life.

- [Narrator] The next morning,

the crew gets back to mining.

- The plan is, we're
gonna go up top, pit one,

we have to continue
drilling the big boulder.

- [Narrator] The promising 90 ton rock

they found weeks ago is
still waiting to be cut

into moveable chunks.

- Josh is drilling so
that we can get a wire saw

through the rock to cut it up,

we gotta drill three or four
more holes on the one end,

at least another six more further up,

just so we can cut the boulder up

but it's gonna take us
up to a month to do.

- [Narrator] And winter
is approaching fast.

- We've got about a month left

and we need some decent quality jade.

So we're hoping for something
else in case things go wrong.

We should go up top and
dig down right beside it.

- Go test, 'kay, I'm in.

- Okay.

- [Narrator] They've already
hauled the highest grade

boulders from pit two back to Jade City.

So Robin and Guy head to a new area

where they have spotted
another jade out cropping.

- Next site we are looking at

is right on the edge of the road.

Okay, let's see.

- [Narrator] First, they look the surface

for signs of quality jade

before deciding if it's
worth digging deeper.

- [Robin] Hmm, colors there.

- I think it's just a fin
that pops straight up.

- Okay, is it a rock?

Is it a lens?

Only one way to find out, eh?

- [Narrator] The crew
get to work digging out

their third pit of the season.

- When you're mining, you're
always behind the clock

'cause it'll be over before you know it

so you can't delay or
you're gonna miss it.

- [Henry] All right,
let's see what this puppy

can do, sunshine.

- [Larry] Okay.

- [Narrator] South of Jade City.

- [Larry] Holy mackerel.

- [Narrator] Larry's making the trip home

with his rescued skidder.

- We had trouble with the engine

but once that was fixed
she's just a good machine,

'bout the biggest skidder around.

- [Henry] Shut him down here.

- [Narrator] His crew
spot something up ahead.

- [Larry] Am I gonna make it?

- You're about this much too short.

- [Larry] Oh, you're kidding?

- [Narrator] The bridge
may not be wide enough

for the skidder to cross.

- We got 13, oh, one,
two, three, 13 three.

- Okay.

If it fits by that much, it's goin'.

- We have 13 here.

- [Henry] 13?

- Yep.

- [Henry] (laughs) We're gonna try.

- [Narrator] With just
three inches of clearance,

there's little room for error.

- Aw man, how would I
get out if I got stuck?

If anything does happen,

just tell Claudia I want a
jade headstone, okay? (laughs)

- [Narrator] Back at Two Mile.

- [Robin] This one here,
it's layered, I don't know.

- [Narrator] Robin's hoping his gamble

on the new site, pit three, pays off.

- The top part there has moved

and the farther it goes down,

the more potential of it being good.

- [Narrator] But there's
only a month left to mine.

- Every day's gotta count,

'cause you don't know when it's gonna end.

- Okay.

- [Narrator] Robin heads back to pit one

to check on Josh's progress,

leaving Gary to continue
digging out their new pit.

- [Gary] Think this is
gonna be our biggest

and heaviest ones yet.

- [Narrator] This huge rock
could be the lucky break

they've been hoping for.

- It's a whole lot
bigger than we expected.

I can't even wiggle it yet.

So now I'm gonna dig a
bigger and deeper hole,

see if I can get her to come down.

Let's do this.

- [Narrator] Gary digs at
the base of the boulder

but it could take weeks to
pry it from the mountain.

- [Gary] It's always
about racin' the clock.

For Robin and Claudia to
make money this season,

we gotta get it out so they can sell it.

Oh yeah, son bitch!

(intense music)

- [Narrator] At Two Mile's
newly opened pit three.

- [Gary] Son bitch!

- [Narrator] Gary's
uncovered something big.

- [Gary] Phew, that was close!

Just about didn't get the bucket
out of the way fast enough.

- Gary, we was just here like an hour ago,

you didn't look that happy.

Bam!

- [Gary] It's a heavy
son of a bitch of rock,

I'll tell ya that.

- Guy figures just about 200 tons.

It's gonna be the biggest and heaviest

that we've knocked down.

- If it is good, the potential is big.

That is one huge rock.

- [Guy] You guys, come look at this.

That right there looks extremely good.

Oh, that right here is what we need,

I just gotta beat Woody.

Jade mining's a big gamble,

the odds are always in the house favor.

(imitates fanfare)

The odd time the house loses, right?

Woo!

- [Narrator] It's been a
rough few weeks but finally,

their luck may have turned.

- [Robin] Very, very happy.

- Holy (beep), now we gotta hurry up

'cause we aint got enough
time to cut all this (beep).

- [Gary] I know.

(upbeat music)

- [Larry] Oh boy.

- [Narrator] South of Jade City,

Scrappy Larry is trying to
squeeze his massive machine

across a narrow bridge.

- [Larry] Oh, it's gonna be tight.

(intense music)

You got some on this side yeah.

Holy (beep).

- [Dwayne] Your way a little.

Oh yeah, yeah, you got room.

We got her.

- Oh, God.

If I'd of broke down up in there,

oh boy, but it didn't! (laughs)

It's drivin' just like a Cadillac,

rides nice and smooth over the bumps

but it goes about as fast
as a 1914 Cadillac. (laughs)

- [Narrator] After a couple
more hours on the road,

Larry and his crew arrive at
the highway near Jade City.

- [Larry] We made it.

- [Henry] Oh, stretchy time.

- [Narrator] Tomorrow,
they'll return with a truck

to haul the skidder back to the scrapyard.

- [Larry] I'm hungry.

- [Guy] I'm regrettin' not
puttin' my long johns on.

- [Narrator] A cold morning at pit three.

Guy is taking a core sample
from the 200 ton boulder.

- Right now we're like, we need jade now,

so we can make some money.

We're through I think.

And pit three's got
some promising looking,

maybe it's gonna pay off.

- [Narrator] If the sample is good,

this rock could deliver a big pay day

right when they need it most.

- [Guy] Hell, you got good timing.

- Holy (beep).

Time is starting to run out

so we're hoping the big piece is good.

- [Guy] That's just extremely (beep).

- Yep, caca.

- [Guy] We call this expensive serpentine,

better known as (beep) jade.

- [Robin] Yep.

Not good enough jade.

No good color, it's not worth it.

- [Guy] I'm gonna say we're done here.

Officially shut down.

(intense music)

- [Robin] The (beep) fractures,

it's all the way around
on this son of a bitch.

- [Narrator] In their
newly opened pit three.

- [Robin] That doesn't
even look like jade!

It's junk.

- [Narrator] The Jade
City crew has discovered

nothing but disappointment.

- Like this one here,
you can just rip apart.

It's just (blows raspberry)

Pit three was really promising

'cause there was so much there
but in the end, too soft,

you could almost break it
all apart with a hammer.

Wasn't even worth diggin' out.

- This whole lens is just garbage.

No sense wasting time here.

- [Narrator] With the end
of the season closing in,

it's another set back.

- Bad things just start to
happen and just snowballs,

feels like we can't
catch a break sometimes.

- [Larry] She did good, huh?

- [Narrator] An hour outside Jade City.

- [Larry] Now, where are we gonna load it?

- [Narrator] Larry's brought in a special,

heavy duty truck to haul
his skidder down the highway

to his yard.

- Gotta love it!

How wide was that skidder?

13, Henry?

Outside of the tires?
- Yep, yep.

- [Larry] (sighs) Okay.

- [Narrator] It's another tight squeeze.

- [Larry] Okay.

- [Henry] It's gonna
be right at the corner.

- [Larry] Have I got room?

- [Dwayne] You got some
on this side, yeah.

Yeah, you got room.

- Keep movin'.

Yep, you're good.

Can't get much closer than that.

Half the tires are gonna
hang over the side,

typical scrappy style.

- [Larry] Last leg of the journey,

I hope I'm gonna make it.

Okie dokie, I have a feeling
we just might make it.

- [Henry] We're not there yet, Larry.

- I got goin' up the road with skidder,

hopin' it works out a little
better than it usually does.

Is that my tire leavin' that mark?

But, stuff happens.

(laughs) I left a dead
alligator skin there.

- [Henry] Pretty much.

- It just disintegrated,
there's nothing left on that rim

but I wasn't stoppin'.

Left a rubber mark all the way to Cassiar,

it'll wear off in a few years.

My god, we made it.

- Oh, my goodness.

- We better go have a celebration drink.

We limped to home.

- [Dwayne] It's still good, Larry.

- Yeah. (laughs)

I was gonna get here one way or another,

if I lost all the wheels
I was still comin' home.

I wonder if Ernie will give
me a warranty on that tire?

(both laugh)

- [Narrator] Back at pit one.

- Jesus, these are nice rocks.

- [Narrator] Josh has
finished another drill hole

on the 90 ton boulder.

- It's very, very, very green and solid.

Consistent with the other drill holes

which leads us to believe
that this whole rock

is pretty high quality.

I better go show this to my dad,

be worth a lot of money.

(upbeat music)

(Josh whistles)

I'm way deeper than this

but this is the first piece that came off.

- Well, that's good.

- No (beep)

- [Narrator] After a rough
few weeks, finally some hope.

- Right on, perfect!

Pit three just didn't pan
out but we've got some decent

jade in pit one, right there.

- [Narrator] The 90 ton boulder
could hold the best jade

of their season.

- Pit one is the one.

- [Narrator] But getting
it cut and moved down

to Jade City before winter
is going to be tough.

- The crunch is on,

we just gotta go hard
here 'till we're done

or until mother nature says we're done

and she's just around the
corner, I can smell her.

We'll see, as always, fingers crossed.

(intense music)

- [Narrator] Next time on Jade Fever.

(car horn beeps)

- [Claudia] I think that's my dad,

he took a little vacation,

a vacation from the family.

There is nothin' easy about me
and my dad working together.

- [Robin] Pressures on, we're
tryna cut this 90 ton up.

- You have to think two
or three different things

ahead of time, you can't just do one.

- It's just not (beep) possible.

- I have no idea how you want that done.

- [Robin] Gettin' agitated.

- [Josh] Designated water boy.

Give it like 15 years,

then I'll be able to run some (beep).

- [Guy] He needs to go home.

(echoing bang)