When 100-MPH Winds Meet Reality TV
There’s more bodies, there’s more equipment, there’s more lives at risk when people are out there filming you.
That is how Jakub Frew, a heavy wrecker operator with Stauffer’s Towing & Recovery in Cheyenne, describes the compounding pressure of clearing highway wreckage while a production crew captures every move.
In March, the stakes for that balancing act reached a breaking point. A historic windstorm tore through Wyoming, with speeds reaching 100 mph at the Cheyenne airport. As the winds uprooted trees, ripped the roofs off of buildings and knocked out power across much of the city, the interstate system became a graveyard for commercial traffic. Dozens of semi-trucks were tipped over, turning the highways into a high-stakes staging ground for the Discovery reality show Rocky Mountain Wreckers.
The show, which follows heavy tow operators across Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming as they clear wrecked commercial rigs from dangerous winter interstates, has become a window into the reality of recovery. But the presence of a three-person film crew during the March 12 storm transformed routine, albeit hazardous, recovery work into a complex logistical challenge for the operators on the ground.
The Hidden Risks of Filming High-Stakes Recovery
For Frew, the morning began with the distinct, low-frequency roar of wind that signaled something far more dangerous than the typical Wyoming gusts he grew up with. While 50 mph or 60 mph winds are a standard, if unpleasant, part of life in the region, the 100 mph constant winds felt different.
The physical environment was hostile. According to David Stice, a heavy wrecker operator at Big Al’s Towing & Recovery, the conditions on the interstate were brutal. The dirt that was getting blown across the interstate was like getting sandblasted.
The presence of the camera crew meant that the operators were no longer just managing the physics of a toppled rig; they were managing the safety of the film crew as well. Frew recalled one close call when a camera man ended up in the path of a toppling semi. The team had to yell at him to get out of the way, while simultaneously scrambling to move their own truck out of harm’s way.
The Pressure of the National Lens
The psychological toll of being filmed during a disaster is not lost on the operators. Stice, who has been featured in a handful of episodes over the show’s two seasons, noted that the pressure of the job is constant, but the awareness of the camera adds a layer of anxiety. The idea of a “villain edit,” where footage is cut to cast someone as the bad guy, remains a lingering concern for those whose professional reputations are built on split-second decisions.
For the production crew, the stress was mutual. Stice observed that on that particular day, the film crew attempted to capture everything unfolding around them instead of following one person. It was a high-stress situation for them to be in also.
Despite the intensity, the work remains. When the credits roll, the wreckers return to the highways, waiting on the next call.
Whether or not the cameras are there to see it, the next call is always waiting. The storm may have passed, but the reality of hauling heavy steel through 100 mph winds remains a constant for those on the front lines.
