From a media release:
- –Jamie Davis Heavy Rescue maintains operations in B.C., while expanding into Alberta to service the infamous highways through the oil patch
- “The Coquihalla Experience†puts viewers in the driver’s seat for an interactive immersion at Discovery.ca
When it comes to wicked weather and wild wrecks, there’s only one other highway system that rivals B.C.’s Coquihalla. As HIGHWAY THRU HELL returns to Discovery for Season 3, premiering Tuesday, September 2 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, Jamie Davis Heavy Rescue moves into Alberta to tackle Highways 881 and 63, basing a second operation out of Lac La Biche – while maintaining Davis’ decade-old business in Hope, B.C. Two provinces, two teams, new crew, old rivals, more trust, more friction, and vastly different types of weather and crash conditions – this hellish third season of the original Canadian hit series from Vancouver’s Great Pacific TV is the most epic season yet.
Back with 13 new episodes, HIGHWAY THRU HELL travels some of the most economically vital – and most inhospitable – trucking routes in North America. Plagued by winter storms, truckers spin out and smash up, and heavy rescue teams hustle to clear the highway carnage and get the road open again. These highway heroes are a hit with viewers –Season 2 of HIGHWAY THRU HELL was #1 in its timeslot on Canadian entertainment specialty television among all key adult and male demos, and was the #3 Canadian entertainment specialty program among Adults 25-54 and 18-49 overall. The 2012 debut still ranks as the #1 series premiere in Discovery’s history*.
Changes and challenges mark every moment of Season 3. Last season, Jamie Davis Heavy Rescue lost a significant amount of business when a new competitor has scooped up half the recoveries, forcing Davis to seek new opportunities to off-set these restrictions. Gambling big, Davis rolls into northern Alberta’s booming oil patch to stake a new claim on another road worthy of the title “highway thru hell.â€
Highway 881 runs north 300 kilometers through remote forest, muskeg, and tundra between Lac La Biche and Fort McMurray. But it’s the only route into newly-discovered oil and gas fields, worth billions of dollars. On a route supplying more energy to the U.S. than Saudi Arabia, hundreds of millions of dollars of heavy equipment must be moved daily on this narrow, two-lane highway. Almost 60,000 shift workers are in camps serviced by Highway 881, and on shift-change day, thousands of workers need to get home. Davis sends his best drivers and trucks to the Alberta oil patch; he tasks Adam Gazzola to manage the new Alberta startup. His crew includes Colin McLean, a city driver fresh from Vancouver who has to earn Gazzola’s respect. Deep snow, bitter cold, and big recoveries that dwarf most loads in B.C. push Gazzola’s team to the limit.
Back in B.C., Davis faces more challenges. During the heaviest snowfall and worst avalanche conditions in decades, he’s left with a skeleton crew of new hires and old trucks in his battle to keep the Coquihalla Highway open. New drivers include Howie Irwin, a highly-skilled heavy recovery vet who used to work the Coq for Davis and his brother before buying his own truck and moving to the city; and Don Starr, a 20-year mountain veteran with MacGyver-like ingenuity. But Davis isn’t the only guy on the road. With Davis’ team stretched across two provinces, rival rescue operator Al Quiring steps into the void. For years, Davis and Quiring have gone “tow to tow†for the title of “King of the Coqâ€. And like Davis has done with this stepson Brandon, Quiring is teaching the family trade to the next generation, his son Cary by his side. These young bucks have a lot to prove. Brandon is setting his sights on the Alberta operation, but must first show Davis that he has what it takes at home in B.C. Brandon attends a “wreckmaster heavy rescue bootcamp,†and this season Davis offers Brandon the chance to patrol in the quick response truck, aimed at securing accident scenes for heavy rescue… before the competition.
Highlights from the first episodes of HIGHWAY THRU HELL, Season 3, include:
HIGHWAY THRU HELL: “New Hell Old Hellâ€
Tuesday, September 2 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
A new winter season starts with Jamie Davis Heavy Rescue split in two… Adam Gazzola has taken half the fleet north to Alberta’s rich and dangerous oil fields while Jamie Davis stays back to fight and keep the Coq open all by himself.
HIGHWAY THRU HELL: “New Hopeâ€
Tuesday, September 9 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Jamie Davis realizes he can’t do it all alone in B.C. and hires a new driver. But the newest addition ends up needing rescuing himself after he crashes Bruce Hardy’s legendary blue truck. Davis’ stepson Brandon is forced to prove himself after his plans to join the Alberta team are put on hold. And rookie operator, Colin McLean, learns just how tough his new boss Adam Gazzola can be… when a seemingly simple job goes sideways.
When “closure is not an option,†Davis’ teams struggle to make a go of it as the season continues. In Alberta, the crew must sleep in their trucks when they can’t find homes to rent, face the bitter cold of an Alberta winter, and endure the pain and heartache of leaving family behind. In B.C., 300 centimetres of snow falls in February, creating the worst avalanche conditions on the Coq in its 27-year history, which Davis must tackle with his newest crew and oldest trucks. At the end of the season, Davis faces the ultimate decision: should he throw all his resources into his new Alberta business, or rebuild his B.C. operations and wage a renewed battle on the Coq?
