Shortly before the suspension of the participants, the start of the survival show 7 vs. Wild had to be postponed due to wildfires. Due to the wildfire season in Canada, new rules came into effect that prohibited participants from making fire. Fire could only be ignited under strict limitations.
How did the crisis come about? In the new “Behind the Scenes” episode of the successful format 7 vs. Wild, we gained deep insights into the arrival of the participants and their preparations. After weighing the participants, which is traditionally the last step before suspension, the so-called organizing team of 7 vs. Wild called all candidates to a crisis meeting.
The wildfires in Canada were so severe at that time that the government of British Columbia had declared a state of emergency. Due to the state of emergency, new rules came into effect that banned all open fires, including the campfires of the participants.
One of the participants in season 3 is Twitch streamer Jens “Knossi” Knossalla. You can see more about him in our video.
Fritz Meinecke is furious – absolute disaster
What was discussed in the crisis meeting? The new organizing team around the co-founders of 7 vs. Wild, Max and Johannes, brought the candidates out of their rooms at night, where some were still working on their final bottle.
In the crisis meeting, the participants were informed that the originally planned method of securing fire with a so-called Bushbox (a metal container for controlled fire) was no longer sufficient. Due to the new rules, which prohibited open fire in British Columbia, the organizing team only had a gas stove as an alternative source of fire for the participants. However, this was not acceptable to the participants.
What does “7 vs. Wild” founder Fritz Meinecke say about it? Audience favorite Fritz Meinecke says that for him it is an “absolute disaster” to compete with gas stoves in the survival show. All candidates agree that as the “largest survival YouTube show in Europe”, gas stoves are not an option for them.
Fritz Meinecke would have preferred to cancel the show than to cook with gas:
I know that if we do this now and even use a gas canister or it is visible, we can bury ourselves and we can bury the series and this thing is completely ruined for everyone and we make ourselves ridiculous to death.
In the past, there was a lot of criticism of the series, most recently due to the poor image quality on Freevee. The episodes with insights behind the scenes are running as usual on YouTube. You can watch the entire episode 4 here:
How was the series able to take place? As a result of the crisis meeting with the team and candidates, the suspension was postponed by one day to find a solution to the problem.
The team faced a significant challenge to find a solution within a day that would also be permitted for the entire duration of the 14-day production under the new rules. The safety concept surrounding fire making had to be foolproof.
What did the new safety concept look like? Because of the new safety measures by the organizing team, the candidates had some items to ensure a safe fire:
- The originally planned Bushbox served to prevent a fire from spreading.
- Additionally, the participants received charcoal briquettes, which had to be ignited with gathered natural materials to keep the flame smaller while maintaining equal heat.
- In addition to all of this, each team received an outdoor fire extinguisher for emergencies.
Another rule for the teams was that fire could only be made near water and had to be extinguished before going to sleep. Thus, it is also clear where the participants suddenly got charcoal briquettes from in episode 7.
The fire danger level was lowered three days after the start of the survival show. Nevertheless, the organizing team decided to maintain the precautions to ensure the safety of the teams and to minimize interference with the series.
Although he was nominated, Twitch streamer MontanaBlack is not participating in 7 vs. Wild, instead he is poking fun at his old friend ELoTRiX in Fortnite.
