Warmer weather making ice unsafe on city lakes

By Lethbridge Herald on December 4, 2024.

Warren Molnar with the LFES water rescue team speaks to reporters about ice safety on Wednesday at Nicholas Sheran Park. Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – apulido@lethbridgeherald.com

With fluctuating temperatures and rapid weather changes, Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services and the City of Lethbridge are reminding residents about ice safety this winter. 

Warren Molnar with the LFES water rescue team spoke to reporters Wednesday and said the fluctuating temperatures, chinooks and wind are making ice unsafe to be on across the city. 

“Temperature does not dictate whether or not it’s safe to go on the ice. We’ve had below freezing temperatures for a week, so likely the ice is definitely freezing,” said Molnar. 

“But you get the chinooks, the thaw and the wind, so there’s always fluctuating weather patterns and so you can’t just solely rely on weather to know whether or not the ice is going to be safe.” 

He said it is best to stay off the ice until it is deemed safe to be on it by the city as they check the thickness of the ice and people can find that information on the city’s website.

The safety warning came the same day as LFES crews rescued a person stranded on ice in the middle of the Oldman River.

Gary Irvine, district foreman for the City, said he checks the ice thickness in the three designated ice skating areas of the city at Nicholas Sheran lake, Henderson Lake and Legacy Park. 

“We drill holes in the ice and check the thickness. Zero to four inches is not safe, four to eight inches is ok to walk on the ice, eight to 10 inches can have people skating on the ice and 10 to 12 inches can have machines on ice,” said Irvin. 

Right now he said the ice at Nicholas Sheran and Legacy Park are not safe to be on and Henderson is open water and people should stay clear of the lake. 

“We only have three designated areas, please stay off other areas like Riverstone, Chinook Lake, Sunridge, those are not designated skating areas and the ice thickness is not checked,” said Irvin. 

He said for safety reasons people should stay off any body of water across the city that is not checked for ice thickness like community ponds in various neighbourhoods. And to stay off the ice even on designated skating areas until the “ice unsafe” signs come off. 

As a precaution Molnar shared some safety tips in case people make the decision to walk on ice when is deemed safe. He said some of it seems like common sense like dressing properly and generally speaking staying off the ice.

“But if it is safe to be on the ice, make sure you’re not going alone, you don’t go at night, people know where you’re going and when you’re going to be back again,” said Molnar. 

He added that if people are walking their pets to keep them on a leash as they respond to calls involving dogs going out on the lake quite often. 

“We’ve even done some deer rescue and other animals. But we can’t always guarantee, as we have to keep ourselves safe too,” said Molnar. 

He said lakes are one thing, the river is a whole other story and people should avoid the river during the winter as it is far more dangerous than still bodies of water. 

“You could be in a lot more danger. It’s moving water, there’s two inches of ice and right next to it is flowing water. So, we do not recommend going on the river at all,” said Molnar. 

If the situation arises and a person falls through the ice, Molnar said there are ways they can help themselves while waiting for help. 

“I know it’s not easy but remain calm. Stay breathing, keep yourself up out of water, you got about a minute before you start to get hypothermic,” said Molnar. 

He said it is best to remain as calm as you can, as panic can make things worse and you may find in a more difficult situation.

“You want to hang on to an ice shelf, flutter, kick your legs, get horizontal, get your body weight displaced and if you need to roll or crawl, whatever option, it is going to come naturally to you to get flat on the ice and roll away,” said Molnar. 

He said if someone witness another person fall through ice, the first thing they need to do to help is call 911 and then try to find something buoyant like a tree branch that could help them hang on and pull themselves out.