03x06 - Drowning

[bunniefuu]

[ Alarm blaring ]

♪♪

They just issued
a flash flood watch.

What?

That means that
flash flooding is imminent

Or occurring already.

Come on! It's getting dark.
Let's go!

Get those skids!

Don't let them push out
of the way!

Square it up!

Have you ever built a wall
to withstand a flood?

I've...no.

Come on!

If the flood comes now,
then this could all be

Washed into the house.

Hold on. Slow down.

Does it seem like I'm pent-up?
I am.

[ Thunder crashes,
alarm blaring ]

-Watch out! Waves!
-Christine! Hey!

Narrator: marty raney has been
building homesteads

For 40 years.

He spent his life passing
on his homesteading skills.

Marty: I was raised off-grid.

I've built a life and a family

In the toughest place
on earth -- alaska.

And I've taught my kids
everything I know.

♪♪

Narrator: daughter misty has
raised animals

And grown her own food
since she was a child.

Misty: a homestead needs to be
nurtured every day.

You get out what you put in.

Narrator:
son matt spent 12 years years

As a guide and hunter in alaska.

Matt: I have the utmost
respect for wildlife.

Hunting is a privilege
and a necessity.

Narrator: in the last decade,

Two million
americans have moved off-grid.

Misty:
we're in the middle of nowhere.

Narrator: but the wilderness
is a tough place to survive.

I am so afraid
we might end up dead.

Narrator: this year,

Tens of thousands
of homesteads will fail.

Man:
this threat is absolutely real.

We could lose this
place at any moment.

Raney family, we need your help.

Marty: for those brave enough
to embark on this lifestyle,

We're here to help them
overcome the challenges

And fulfill that dream.

My resume, I'll show it
to you right now.

♪♪

--Captions by vitac --
www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

♪♪

I feel like I'm bushwhacking
in the jungle.

I've spent a lot
of time in hawaii.

Don't be misled.

It's not all rainbows
and palm trees.

With 400 inches a year of rain,
steep mountains,

That's the recipe
for a flash flood.

It happens all the time,

And the rainy season is now.

[ Thunderclap ]

Every time we pull into
a homestead, it's raney season.

[ Laughter ]

Narrator: the raneys have
traveled 3,000 miles

Across the pacific ocean

To the hawaiian island of maui.

[ Wind whooshing ]

With a wet season
that lasts five months,

The rivers and streams can
transform into raging torrents.

The raneys are responding
to a cry for help

From a homestead
in danger located

In the middle
of a flash flood zone.

[ Clucking ]

I hear livestock.

[ Gobbling ]

That turkey is saying
good morning.

This is crazy.

They live right
next to this river?

-Hello.
-Hey.

-Hey, guys.
-How's it going?

-Marty raney.
-Sky solbach.

Thanks so much for coming, guys.

You're welcome.

-I'm kristin.
-Thanks for having us.

-Thanks for coming.
-Nice meeting you.

We've never visited a homestead
with a flash flooding river.

This is not the situation
that we're comfortable with,

And we don't know
what to do about it.

I mean, this whole valley goes
all the way up this mountain.

And when it rains up there,
it flash floods through here,

And it's unbelievable.

Narrator: three years ago,
professional kite surfer

Sky and kristin solbach
sold their house,

Purchased 1.2 acres
of jungle land,

And began building
their homestead.

We had this romantic dream of us
living here next to the stream

In this beautiful place.

It just seemed so perfect.

We wanted to be
self-sustainable,

Grow all our own food,
raise our own animals.

Sky: we were working all day
to build stuff,

And it was kind
of a labor of love.

We had no power, no water.

We were camped out
right next to the stream.

That was really the thing
that drew us to this property

Was having that water.

It was a life source.

After a hard day of work,

We would just jump in there
not wearing anything.

That's just my german nature.

Narrator: after a year of
backbreaking work,

They'd finished the house,

Hooked up solar panels,
and built livestock pens.

It was great, but we were naive
about what we were getting into.

[ Rumbling ]

We'd built the house
in the wrong spot,

Not knowing that it can
flash flood at any moment.

oh, my god.

Narrator: last summer, their
worst fears became a reality.

A 6-foot flash flood tore
through the homestead.

Kristin: I think there were just
two things really,

Fear and just disbelief.

Sky: it's like a jet taking off
or a freight train

Blasting through our front yard.

At this point, we're kind of
all out of options,

And we don't know
how to fix this problem.

When the big flood comes,
we could really lose everything.

We could lose our home.

We could even lose our lives.

♪♪

Sky: so this is the footage
of this big flood.

-Whoa!
-The water came up.

-What?!
-Oh, yeah.

-Look at that.
-Logs coming through.

-That's you running.
-Yeah.

Yeah. That's me. I...

So you ran down,
and you grabbed

All the turkeys
and the chickens?

I ran down, grabbed them,
threw them over the fence

So they could run up
the hill and get to safety.

Marty: it looks like it's up
to your house.

That was almost to the house.

That was a few feet away
from our front deck.

How long did that take?


To max height.

That's unbelievable.

My husband is from hawaii,
so we spend a ton of time here.

A couple days ago,
the whole valley got flooded.

It was 11 feet over the road.

-Whoa.
-11 Feet.

-Wow!
-That's crazy.

And the fact that
that's your front yard,

It's so serious,
and it's so real.

When you show up here,
it does look like paradise,

And it's actually
really dangerous.

And people in hawaii die
every year.

Yeah.
It's pretty scary for us.

And the crazy thing about it
is it can be beautiful

And calm and sunny here.
-Yeah, you don't know.

And you have no idea unless you
look up in the mountains.

Yeah.

If it's raining up there,
that's the result.

It's raining up there right now.

♪♪

Marty: this is planet earth.

You can't predict it.

It's unique here because,
in the middle of an ocean,

Mountains stick up
and serve as magnets

That draw clouds
from all directions.

When those mountains
attract those clouds,

It's going to rain,
and it's going to rain hard.

What does that mean
for this homestead?

Flash floods, and one will come
that's big enough

To take that house downriver.

It's going to happen.

♪♪

Narrator:
the raneys have just one week

To turn this homestead around
before they must move on.

All fixes will pay
for themselves or save lives.

Who cleared all of this bank?

We just keep it down
with a weed whacker.

-It used to look like that.
-Yeah.

So now you're going to have
a problem with erosion.

You need plants for their roots
and for their stems

Because they actually
hold the soil together,

And they act as a filter
against floods.

Kristin and sky,
without knowing it,

Have actually ruined
this property.

It really just goes right
between the trees.

Right here? The waves are going
through these branches?

-Yeah. It goes right there.
-No, they're not.

-They are.
-They're not.

They are.

That's, like, 10 feet above
where the water is right now.

It's really, really scary.

It just has produced
too much fear in me

That I can't really
live here anymore.

So when was the last time

They were warning you
about a flash flood here?

When was the last time?

Just a couple of days ago,
we got a flash flood warning.

But this turkey coop is still
standing in the exact same place

Where they had
to be rescued from.

We don't have very
much flat, usable space.

It's such a big coop for us
to move, just the two of us.

But it's actually a really,
really dangerous,

Dangerous homestead.
-Yeah.

The raneys are some
of the craziest guys around.

They've seen it all,
and if they think that this

Is more dangerous

Than anything
that they've worked with,

Then this really worries me.

♪♪

[ Clucking ]

Narrator:
in the path of the flood

Are 6 turkeys and 30 chickens,

All of the homestead's food.

Big main food source for us
for eggs and for meat.

You have a lot of food now,
but this entire food source

That you guys have here,
it's threatened.

I mean, it could be gone.

Narrator:
if this livestock is drowned,

The solbachs' homestead

Will lose their
only source of protein.

Do you ever do
any sort of hunting?

No, I've never
really done hunting.

I think you need to diversify.

Hawaii actually has a huge
tradition with pig hunting.

We need to get you up
in these mountains

So you can really see
what this island has.

For my bachelor party,
I actually went on an actual

Traditional hawaiian pig hunt,

And ever since then,

I've been dreaming
about hunting in hawaii.

And now is the time.

Narrator: saving this homestead
will be one of the raneys'

Biggest challenges yet.

Marty knows just how hard it is

To protect against flash floods.

It reminds me of when we were on
the homestead in haines, alaska.

It was many miles
of a gravel road,

And I was constantly
battling the fall time

When the snow
and the high water

And the floods were trying
to eat the road away.

Meanwhile, your mom and your
older sister was a teeny baby

Out there stranded.

All I had was a ford truck
and some shovels,

And I would cut logs and trees
and divert a lot of water

Every day
during the rainy season.

Wow.

-Can you hear that noise?
-Yeah.

It's the river.

And what it really means,
it's the ticking of a time b*mb,

And it will go off, eventually.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Narrator: with rain clouds
building in the mountain,

Marty wastes no time.

That last flood you had was
about 4 foot higher

Than the water level now.

I'm thinking that this rock
right here has been here

A long time.

-Do you agree?
-Yeah. It looks like it.

I'm thinking that this rock
has survived

Some serious flash floods.

I'm thinking we take
a hint from the rocks

That are along this river
that haven't been moved

Because of their size.
-Right.

And we just engineer a wall
built out of large stone.

There's one, two, three, four,
five, six boulders right there.

Narrator:
marty will build a flood defense

Using boulders sourced
from the land,

Which will be interlocked
with smaller rocks

To create a solid wall.

The ground behind will be
filled with earth,

More rocks, and a strong
rooting plant

That will grow
and hold the wall together.

The wall should act
as a barrier,

Diverting floods away
from the homestead.

First thing that has
to happen is that pen

And all of that fencing
has got to go

Because it's exactly

Where we're going to
build the defensive wall.

We're moving it,
and we're moving it now.

Narrator:
the fence starts to come down.

So does the heavy mountain rain.

It's starting to rain
harder and harder,

And now I can't see
the mountains anymore.

-Yep.
-Is that significant?

If we hear any rumbling
and any big rocks moving,

We just got to run.

No matter what we're
doing right now,

We just let everything fall
and run to higher ground.

Narrator: but floods aren't
the only threat to marty's plan.

Check out this spider, dad.

Oh, son of a --

[ Laughter ]

That's a garden spider.

-Oh!
-[ Laughs ]

-Don't step on it!
-It tried to bite me!

It didn't!
Don't step on it!

You're such a little girl!

I know that he's afraid
of spiders and snakes,

And that never gets old.

[ Thunder crashes ]

Narrator: as the rain grows
steadily heavier,

Sky solbach gets the news
they've all been dreading.

We got a flash flood warning,
which is in effect

Until 10:30 p.m. Tonight.

[ Male automated voice ] this is
a maui flash flood warning.

heavy showers and thunderstorm
may lead to flash flooding.

Not to put any more pressure
on this situation,

But they just issued
a flash flood watch.

What?

That means that
flash flooding is imminent

Or occurring already.

Narrator: on the island of maui,
the raneys are battling

To save a homestead
with no hunting

And at the mercy
of flash floods.

sky: oh, my god.

Narrator:
marty must build flood defenses

And overhaul
the homestead layout,

But with a storm rolling in,

Priority is to move the turkey
coop to higher ground.

They just issued
a flash flood watch.

What?

That means that
flash flooding is imminent

Or occurring already.

[ Thunder crashes ]

We're kind of on high alert.

We know something
is potentially coming.

Everyone's behind us just going
crazy tearing down the coop.

It's all happening.

I mean, we're trying to
get everything to higher ground.

-Does it seem like I'm --
-hold on. Slow down.

-Yeah.
-Does it seem like I'm pent-up?

I am.

There's a sense of
urgency right now

Because there's work
to be done.

You want to film me?
Come on over.

You know,
what's more important,

Saving a property,
livestock, animals,

Or a little bit of, you know,
$100 worth of fencing?

So I'm just about ready to just
rip this fence out and be done.

Over 40 years of dealing
with alaskan flash floods,

I've learned one thing --

Floods k*ll.

And, right now as I tell you,
there's chills going up

The back of my neck

Because death is coming
down the mountain.

Narrator: as the rainfall
increases and the river rises,

Marty must think fast to move
the coop out of the flood path.

He borrows a skidsteer
from the solbachs' neighbor

And uses what materials
he has on hand.

The plan is to grab
those barrels,

Lay them under here
just like the egyptians,

Cut the legs out
from underneath it,

And slowly try
to roll that way.

All we have to do
is go about 40 feet,

And it's out of the way.

All we have to do is 40 feet?

They look a little rusty.

Everything rusts in hawaii.

Everything rusts here.

Can you please take care
of the building and make sure

That we don't
lose it completely?

Hey, let's cut to the chase.

If I get in my truck
and go back to alaska,

Something else
coming down that mountain

Is going to destroy
this thing anyway.

Time for action.
Try to push forward.

-Yeah.
-One, two, three.

Marty: you guys, I might already
see some problems.

-We've got a crushed barrel.
-They're just so rusty.

-Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
-Watch out. It's going.

Get that 2x4 right now.

Unfortunately, they collapsed.

We tried to skid this
building across crushed,

Collapsed, rusty barrels,

And now we're at a point
that we need

To put something
else under there.

We've got some water pipe,
and we'll use it to skid

This building another 20 feet.

-There you go.
-Hey!

[ Whistles ]
can I push on the a*s end?

-Yes, dad, yes.
-Here I come! [ Whistles ]

I know marty is
a wild man from alaska.

He's a cowboy,
and he does things on the fly

And gets it done quick
and dirty.

But in this moment,
I'm thinking,

"What are we doing here? Are we
going to destroy this thing?"

-Let's go! We got to move!
-Wait! Wait! Wait!

-Stop!
-Wait!

Working with my dad
is always an adventure.

It's not your average
construction worker.

There's chain saws.
There's shouting.

There's crying.
You know, it's a good time.

Come on! It's getting dark!
Let's go!

Narrator:
as night falls, the rain-soaked,

Muddy ground slows progress.

Get those skids!

Don't let them push
out of the way!

[ Whistles ]
matt, hand signals!

Square it up!

Narrator: with 10 feet to go,
the flood watch still in place

And light failing,
time is against them.

[ Speaking over each other ]

Go, go, go!

-Whoo!
-Whoa! Good!

I can't see a thing!

[ Speaking over each other ]

-Yeah!
-Nice.

It's perfect!

Does the building
have any scratches?

No scratches!

You were not a believer!

-Good job, guys!
-Nice job.

Listen, I don't high five.

-I shake hands.
-That's good.

I'll tell you why
I shake hands because --

You know why
he doesn't high five?

Because they look like this.

-[ Laughs ]
-good job, guys.

We got lucky, but we're still
on flash flood watch.

This is nothing, nothing
compared to the danger,

The work, the effort
and the sweat

That starts tomorrow morning.

♪♪

[ Rooster crows ]

Narrator: during the night,

The flash flood
missed the homestead

But hit a neighboring valley.

woman: from raging rivers
to landslides

and flooding,
mother nature leaves

a path of destruction
on the valley isle,

destroying everything
from parking lots to homes.

Narrator:
maui is still on high alert,

And so is homesteader kristin.

How much experience do you
actually have with building

Flat walls like this?

Let's just say that I've
probably done more with stone

Than anybody
in the state of alaska.

But have you ever built a wall
to withstand a flood?

No.

-Do you --
-but I've -- no.

So how sure are you actually
that this is going to work,

That this is actually going to
withstand the water,

The flood, the force of water
that it's supposed to withstand?

I've dealt with flooding water,
but I'd be lying to you

If I said I've dealt
with flash flooding.

-Mm-hmm.
-Because I -- like this.

-Yeah.
-This is insanity.

I have 43 years
or more of working

With that exact product.

Should qualify me
for something.

I really hope you can prove
my concerns wrong

And that
this is going to work.

If there was ever a homesteader
I wanted to prove wrong,

It would be you now.

Sorry. I'm sorry, but I got
to get to work.

If I didn't think
it was going to work,

I wouldn't be standing here
talking to you,

About to jump in that excavator
and build a wall.

Come on, buddy.

Come on!

Oh!

Ah!

I moved two rocks, two rocks!

Maui has a rainy season.
We're in it.

It turns this ground,
as you can see, to soup.

This isn't even that steep,

But it's shut this project down.

Narrator: still to come...

[ Whispers ] over there.
I see it. I see it.

Narrator: matt shows sky how
to hunt pig to survive,

And a worried kristin
confronts marty.

This better not be bad news.

For me, it's pretty bad news
to see this place like that.

We didn't come here
to landscape your property.

If a flood comes now,
then this could all be

Washed into the house.

♪♪

Narrator: the island of maui
is in the grip of a storm.

[ Thunder crashes ]

And the raneys are desperately
trying to save a homestead.

Come on! It's getting dark!
Let's go!

Narrator:
livestock and buildings are

Under threat of a flash flood.

-Stop!
-Wait!

Narrator: and marty must quickly
build a defense barrier,

But the rain and mud...

Come on, buddy.

Narrator:
...stopped marty in his tracks.

And I can't even get the machine
back to the rock pile.

The job is shut down.
I got to get something else.

That's piece of equipment
won't work.

We can't talk about it anymore.

It's time to -- I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. Look out, darlin'.

[ Crowing ]

Narrator:
with the livestock at risk

Of being wiped out by a flood,

Matt must teach sky
how to hunt for his own food.

I set something up.

Wow, bow and arrow,
that's really cool.

Narrator: with regional
firearm restrictions

Enforced across the state,

Sky needs to learn
how to hunt pigs

With a bow and arrow.

Matt: these things sh**t really,
really fast, like,



It's just as deadly as a r*fle.

[ Whistles ] wow.
That's dead center.

You want to be able
to hit this animal right

In the vital area

To bring it down
as humanely as possible.

Right.

Narrator: this means hitting
a target just 6 inches wide.

Experienced hunters like matt
can hit the k*ll zone

At 50 yards,

But 20 yards
is a realistic goal

For a rookie bow hunter.

That was not bad at all, man.

You're good at 20,
and out hunting, you know,

Maybe drop it down to,
like, 15 yards.

Yep.

So if something pops out,
it's got to be extremely close.

Mm-hmm.

But I definitely wouldn't
take a shot beyond 20

Because you know that you're not
effective at that range.

Exactly. Yeah.

And I wouldn't feel comfortable
taking that shot either.

Narrator: matt and sky head into
the mountains to hunt for real.

[ Whispers ]
these are all fresh diggings.

I mean, look in here.

You see how they're just
rooting and rooting around?

Narrator: following the tracks,

They catch
a glimpse of their prey.

Really far away, man.

I think that's, like,


Let's try to get down there

And see if we can get
close enough.

Okay.

The pig is laying
in the grass over there.

♪♪

Three. Three.

Narrator:
it's a difficult 60-yard shot,

So matt steps up.

♪♪

Narrator: as the pigs move away,
the odds of making

A clean k*ll are too high,
even for matt.

Just because you pull back that
string doesn't mean you have

To let that arrow loose.
-Yeah.

You know, these pigs
are not going to come out

If it's raining too hard.
We'll call it quits.

Narrator:
with the rainfall getting

Heavier in the mountains,

Back on the homestead,

The skidsteer is still stuck

And work on the flood
defense stalled.

♪♪

Are you serious?

Narrator:
marty is fighting back.

He's loaned even more firepower
from the neighbor.

Sky: marty to the rescue.

♪♪

All right.
So here's what's going on.

We've got the skidsteer stuck.
I've got a chain.

I've got a boom on the front
of an excavator.

Is it going to work?
It has to work.

Please get out of the way.

Narrator: misty starts up
the skidsteer to give marty

As much help as possible
with his rescue plan.

It's like this big mudhole
that you can't get out of.

I don't see any mud.

-[ Laughs ]
-[ laughs ]

Here we go!

[ Rumbling ]

Yeah! Go on!
Go, go, go, go, go!

Okay! Stop it!

Good girl! I like it!

Good job! Okay. Hold on.
Can you move on your own?

Yeah, I'm good!
You got me free.

Thanks so much.

I had this really old car
when I was a teenager,

And it never started
below freezing.

And my dad would hook
on to me with a chain

With his flatbed truck

And try and jump-start my car.

It was totally crazy.

See if you can get on this
track and head down.

So these little things
where people think

They're totally not normal,

It's my reality.

Narrator: but the harsh reality
for kristin

Is the current state
of her precious garden.

What's up, kid?
This better not be bad news.

Well, I don't know
if it's bad news for you.

What?

But for me,
it's pretty bad news

To see this place like that.

We put a lot of effort and time
into putting down grass

And concrete and actually
making it livable.

And now I see it
like this again and, I mean,

If a flood comes now,
then this could

All just be washed
right into the house.

That's a really good point.

All of your criticisms
are noted,

And what it really means

Is I probably
should get back to work.

Sorry.

[ Beeping ]

Time's a-wasting,
and I don't have any time left.

With the build having started
but not nearly being finished,

It actually puts us in

A much more dangerous situation
than we were in before.

There is now huge boulders
on our property

That could get pushed down
by the flood

And destroy
everything down here,

Really destroy our house.

So that really makes me
super nervous.

♪♪

Narrator:
with only one excavator

Able to work in the mud,

Marty's under huge pressure.

Can you see that rain?
Can you see it? It's heavy.

It's getting heavier
every second.

What does it mean?

More mud, slows things down,
equipment gets stuck.

Not good, but I don't even
have time right now left

To finish that statement.

♪♪

Narrator: coming up,

Another flood warning
means everyone must help

With an emergency coop move.

Okay. Wait! Wait! Wait!
Wait! Wait!

-Lift your fork. Lift your fork.
-Okay. Hang on.

Who's giving me hand signals?

It is so slippery.

-No! Stop!
-Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!

-Stop!
-[ Whistles ]

♪♪

Narrator:
the raneys have just three days

To save a hawaiian homestead
from flash floods.

Marty hopes his 50-foot
rock barrier

Will protect the livestock
and homestead from drowning,

But the wall
is far from finished.

So matt must find
an emergency food source,

And he's back on the trail
of wild pig.

[ Whispers ] we just heard a pig
right over there.

It almost sounded like it
was coming towards us.

Now, it's silent.

We're just waiting
to see if it comes out.

♪♪

Oh, I see it. I see it.
I just see the shadow.

I can just see the top of it

Right in the trees over there,
super dark in there.

Narrator:
sheltering 30 yards away

In the dense undergrowth,

The pig is barely visible.

I think it's too far for me.
I think you got it.

I think you got to do it.

-Stay here.
-Okay.

♪♪

[ Squeals ]

♪♪

Whew.

That was a tough shot
through the trees, man.

I definitely think
I hit the vital organs.

Okay.

Narrator:
with little light in the forest,

Matt and sky struggle
to find the pig.

Now, hold on.
I'm seeing a ton of blood, dude.

-Okay.
-A ton.

Where? Oh, wow. Yep.

Let's just follow
this trail, man.

Okay. Let's go.
I'm behind you.

♪♪

Right here.

Yeah.
It ran right by this tree.

What's that down there?
Is that the pig?

Is that it?

-That's it.
-Okay. Sweet. We got it.

-Nice.
-We got it.

-Nice, matt.
-Nice, dude.

That's awesome.
That is sick.

I'm so stoked.

There's just one final step.
We followed the trail.

We know where our game
is fallen,

But you really have to make sure

That it doesn't have that
little bit of life left in it.

Narrator:
if the pig is just wounded,

It could attack.

When you let that arrow loose,

You're going to feel
even a greater, like,

Adrenaline rush.
-Yeah.

And that -- you're going to get
this thrill from the hunt.

You're going to be
thinking kind of crazy.

You have to really make sure
that this animal

Is down and done for.
-Right.

Narrator:
matt's arrow went straight

Through the pig's vital organs,

k*lling it in seconds.

I could not give you
a better demonstration

On how to
bring this animal down

The most humane way
possible with a bow.

Let's get this thing
out of here. It's dark, man.

Okay. Let's go.
Let's get out of the jungle.

I feel really pumped right now.
It was amazing.

What a pure way to provide meat
for your family.

It's as pure as it gets.

♪♪

Narrator: the next day
and a break from the rain

Has allowed good progress
on the flood defense.

Over 80 boulders and rocks
have been used to form

A 3-foot high,


Marty and misty now
fill and raise the ground

With earth to strengthen
and support the wall.

This looks amazing.

This is way higher
than their flood line.

-We overbuilt it.
-It's incredible.

I just ratcheted it up,
got bigger rocks,

Built a bigger wall.

This is above and beyond
the way it should be.

Narrator:
but despite the progress,

Kristin has more worrying news.

We just got another flash flood
warning this morning.

They come here so regularly,

So the sooner we can
get this done, the better.

Narrator:
the turkey coop must be moved,

Once again,
to even higher ground.

On top of this wall that you've
built is the perfect place

For this turkey coop,
way above the flood zone.

Okay. Grab a tape measure.
That thing is huge.

-Make sure it fits, please.
-Okay. That's a good point.

Fair enough.
Good idea, by the way.

Narrator:
to save the coop from the flood,

It must be moved 30 feet
from the river...

[ Whistles ]

Narrator: ...and raised


It's going to be a mission
to get it up on this thing.

It's either this, or I'm out
of ideas, but we have to try.

I think we need to get started
right this second.

-Here we go.
-Okay. Let's do it.

Let's go.
I'm following you.

-Let's make it happen.
-You're not moving fast enough.

Narrator: to move
the 2,000-pound structure,

Marty plans to build a ramp
using three wooden beams

Left over from the construction.

He'll attempt to pull the coop
along log rollers

And then onto the ramp
using the boom of the excavator.

Matt will drive the skidsteer
and push from behind to try

And stop the coop
from toppling off the ramp.

I want straps
all the way around it.

Not that green one.

I don't have time to [bleep]
around with ratchet straps.

So you want to do the green one?

Please get a strap around it.
Thank you.

I don't care how it happens.

Once you start pulling
from one end,

It could start snapping things,

But hopefully, we hear it before
we rip this thing into shreds.

I'm looking over at kristin.

I can see the worry on her face,

And I'm feeling
the exact same way.

And I think we're both just
thinking, "marty, we trust you,

But please just don't
destroy our turkey coop."

Stand by!

Pull it!

Narrator:
a fierce pull from marty

Gets the coop moving.

Okay. Wait! Wait! Wait!
Wait! Wait!

-Okay. Hang on.
-Lift your fork. Lift your fork.

Narrator:
but matt's driving blind.

I need to know what he's doing.

He's pulling it up
the skids right now.

-Okay.
-Who's giving me hand signals?

Narrator: misty steps in to
direct her brother and father.

Going slow!

♪♪

[ Creaking, screeching ]

-Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa!
-Stop! Stop!

-Whoa!
-Stop!

-Hey, don't move anything! Stay!
-Hold on!

Narrator: the entire 2,000-pound
load hangs on one sling.

This thing is heavy.
Everything is stressed out.

It just entered my mind that
I could cut this thing in half.

-Don't do that.
-I'm thinking about it.

Okay. Don't do that.

Narrator: marty can't stretch
the slings any further,

So it's up to matt to try
and push the final 10 feet.

-Whoa! Whoa!
-Good!

I think I got it from here!
It is so slippery!

-Don't be shy!
-All right! We're good!

We're good! We're good!
We're done!

Good work, man.

-Yeah, man.
-Nice job.

-You did good.
-Awesome. Great job.

-Marty.
-It is.

-[ Laughing ]
-what is on your nose?

You've got dirt on
your face, too.

Ah!

Narrator: coming up,

A mountain storm puts
the raneys' flood barrier

To its ultimate test.

Narrator: the raneys have spent
the last six days...

Come on! It's getting dark!
Let's go!

Narrator: ...attempting to save
the solbachs'

Hawaiian homestead under threat

From a major flash flood.

Dwellings have been moved
and a massive rock

Flood defense built,

But the muddy ground
around it still needs

To be secured
against the torrents.

So one person dig,
and one person plant.

Okay.

Narrator:
it's the final day.

Pressure is on to finish as yet
another storm is forecast.

Right now, I have
a little window

To get these plants
in the ground,

And all that pressure
has turned to me.

Narrator: misty and sky are
planting vetiver,

A locally sourced island grass,

Which should help
stop erosion.

When this plant is fully mature,

The roots have
the strength of steel.

So it will go down 12 feet,
strengthening that wall.

Narrator: but there's still one
last job for marty.

I came here to save a homestead
from a flash flood.

In the process,
I've destroyed the yard.

Is kristin happy?

[ Spits ] no.

Am I going to fix it? Yes.

I've never left a homestead
with a homeowner unhappy-ish.

Okay. Good.

Narrator:
he plans on laying 200 rolls of

Turf on the freshly dug ground.

If we try to get up and down
that hill with all this sod,

Any more material, we're going
to destroy this place again.

Stand by. We've got to come up
with some macgyver.

All right. So the plan is
to load the wheelbarrow

And then send it airmail

Down to the bottom
by the river

So that we can set that sod.

Narrator:
marty ties wire around a tree

At the bottom of the hill.

He must attach the other end
to the skidsteer

To make a zip line
alaskan style.

Do we have a cable clamp?

No, we don't need one.

Take three of those
stands and unwind them.

Unbraid it.

Now take these two ends.

Go around back into itself.

-Yep.
-Braid it.

-No way.
-Braid it back together, please.

Hold it up.
What have you just made?

-A loop!
-Yeah.

Now, we're going to hook
that on the fork,

A macgyver off-grid trick.

That's pretty awesome.

Whoo-hoo!

Whoo! I'm sweating like
an alaskan in hawaii.

Okay. Next load.

A lot of people are good
at talking, drawing pictures.

I'm a man of action.

I'd rather do something
than talk about it.

All right.

Where do you want this one?
Right here?

Narrator: six days of solid work
and 500 bucks worth of turf,

All jobs are now complete.

The crucial centerpiece --

Marty's 80-boulder
stone defense wall.

There's about 30,000 pounds
of a hawaiian stone.

-Okay? 15 Tons of stone.
-Wow.

According to hydrologists
and according to hawaiians,

The water can get
this high every 100 years.

Mm-hmm.

I decided not build
a wall this high.

We went above and beyond

The 100-year
danger flash flood.

Yeah.

Thank you so much, marty.

You don't even know
how much this means to us.

Well, it means a lot to me to
know that your place is safer.

I have seen now how experienced
marty is in building rock walls.

I mean, he really is amazing.

Totally trust him.

It's just really
the question of,

Will it withstand
against the river?

♪♪

Narrator: the solbachs
are prepared as can be

For their next flash flood

And can enjoy their
butchered pig,

Which will feed them
for a month.

This is the tenderloins.
We call them backstraps.

This looks so amazing.
After all that effort,

Hiking up and down
every mountain in maui.

You now know how to hunt, man.

One day, that is going
to be my first pig.

Yeah!

All right!

Can I show you
what we do in germany?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I really like it.

-Hey, kristin.
-Yes.

Can I show you
what we do in alaska?

Sure. [ Laughs ]

-Oh, man.
-Nice.

When I go back to alaska,

Out of all the homesteaders
I've ever worried about,

It won't be these people.

We came up with a cure.

When we first arrived
on this homestead,

It was a really dangerous place,
but now look at it.

Thank you, guys, so much.

Thanks for having us.

I can't believe what all
you've done for us.

Thank you guys so much!

♪♪

Sky: wow.

Okay. We're just assessing
the damage here after the flood.

The rain has stopped,
and the sun has come out.

So a few pieces of vetiver
weren't able to hold on.

Up here, you can see
how they're sort of bent over

And just sort of hanging
on by a thread.

It just didn't have the time
to be able to grow

And hold everything together.

The turkeys were
completely safe.

They were standing
there watching

The whole flood happen
like no big deal.

It was pretty crazy,
but the wall did its job.