People in Golden may have seen a friendly new face in town, and big red towing trucks clearing wreckage out of the canyon and helping people out of sticky situations along the roadsides.
Jamie Davis Towing has purchased Columbia Towing, and his operation is already in full swing in Golden. Although there might not be a lot of filming here on Highway Thru Hell, there could be some glam shots done in Golden to showcase the new business venture and the beautiful scenery here. Maybe, Davis will even try out his skis on the mountain.
With a wife and family back in their homebase of Hope, Davis will spend part of his time in Golden. He will be here through the winter, helping to clear accidents from the highway, keeping roadways open and minimizing closures with the other towing company in town.
One of the reasons Davis decided on Golden as the next move was thanks to the local RCMP. When accidents occur, the RCMP contact the local towing companies to clear the wreckage. In Golden, the RCMP function off a call-for-call basis, meaning that one company gets a job, and another company gets the next. The system works really well for Davis, and he says it keeps his crew busy, without too much downtime. It also prevents him from overworking his employees, because it breaks up the work nicely.
“They have a great way of managing it,” Davis said about the calls.
The owner of Columbia Towing and Davis have been good friends for many years. When the opportunity came up for Davis to buy Columbia Towing, he took a look at Golden and started meeting with the RCMP to figure out the logistics. He bought the business, and now Columbia Towing continues with their two locations in Revelstoke and Sicamous.
Running a towing company means more than just loading up wrecked vehicles and taking them to the yard. Often, Davis and his crew are working long hours to help people in devastating situations.
Recently, a moving van crashed in the Kicking Horse Canyon. On the first night, Davis and his crew went out to the scene and provided light in the dark hours for the family to collect their belongings from the van and roadway. While he was there, Davis was helping to pick up family photographs off the ground, helping the family piece their belongings back together.
At 55, Davis is hoping to make the move to Golden more permanent. He expects this is a good time to take up business in Golden, with winter on the way and the Kicking Horse Canyon Project beginning in the spring. Much of the business isn’t local, and his trucks spend a lot of time transporting wrecked vehicles from different places to where they’re originally from. He has a truck on the road to Saskatchewan this week, transporting a vehicle back to Vancouver.
He’s created quite the buzz around town, and despite his celebrity status from the show Highway Thru Hell, he has humble roots. Excited to open up shop in a quiet town, Davis is happy that the towing market in Golden isn’t oversaturated. Making the move to Golden won’t be overly difficult for Jamie Davis Towing, as the situations here are much like those experienced on the Coquihalla Highway.
“The challenges are very similar to what we dealt with in Hope,” Davis said. “We’re used to doing those kinds of things; big wrecks… They’re very similar. You have that over the bank stuff… We know exactly what equipment we need to use here.”
The time he has spent in Golden so far has been really enjoyable for Davis and his step-son Brandon. In the mornings, they enjoy going out for coffee and meeting locals, and have found one of their favourite locales at Legendz Diner.
On October 12, Davis and his family and crew are off to Tennessee, U.S., when Jamie Davis Towing is inducted into the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame.
Jamie Davis Towing specializes in towing, heavy hauling, heavy rescue and recovery, jump starts and boosting, and tire changes. For roadside assistance, call 1-877-869-8440.
