Thursday, December 10, 2009

There is no such thing as 100 percent safe ice.

A lot of us in the northland are planning to head out on the ice this weekend. Sure, it has been cold, and we have been making good ice, but you just can't be too careful when it comes to ice safety.

The DNR reminds us of these...

General ice thickness guidelines

ice thickness guide card

Printable PDF version

For New, Clear Ice Only

  • 2" or less - STAY OFF
  • 4" - Ice fishing or other activities on foot
  • 5" - Snowmobile or ATV
  • 8" - 12" - Car or small pickup
  • 12" - 15" - Medium truck

Remember that these thicknesses are merely guidelines for new, clear, solid ice. Many factors other than thickness can cause ice to be unsafe.

If you head out this weekend, let us know what kind of ice conditions you encounter.

1 comment:

Gord said...

How do you know ice thickness? By traveling on top of it and drilling or chopping a hole to measure.

If it's only an inch or two - too late!

Every year KAXE listeners listen on their radios to hear that John Latimer got one leg wet or fell in and got completely soaked, as he crashed through the thin ice on Crooked Lake.

Every year the news media tells us the stories of preventable accidents and dangerous rescues.

Earlier this month a guy took a ladder and tried to get his dog off thin ice. He made front page news by falling in and getting rescued.

We are still waiting up north for the first ATV and the first truck.

We know who was the first prominent skater to break the ice.

Is it so difficult to be careful and wait for a few days of really cold temperatures?