Be wary of all ice conditions

[Spiel]

Be wary of all ice conditions

 

Bob Bruton

Innisfil Examiner

Friday, January 04, 2008 Updated @ 2:19:19 PM

 

 

Two ice fishers wait for that elusive catch on Cooks Bay. Ice conditions are very unpredictable, despite the recent cold snap. - Photo: IAN MCINROY

_________________________

 

On foot, in a fish hut, on a snowmobile or ATV, the message is the same.

 

Stay off the ice on waterways like Lake Simcoe, Cook’s Bay and Kempenfelt Bay — despite the recent cold snap.

 

Terry Goy, who runs an ice hut business on the 11th Line of Innisfil, was cutting holes Thursday morning in seven to 11 inches of ice in Cook’s Bay.

 

“It’s good for walking or ATVs, just off Gilford Road,” he said.

 

“But it’s unsafe at Belle Ewart. Everything is day-to-day here.

 

“It’s good (ice conditions) on the smaller bodies of water, but out on the lake — no.”

 

Steve Chillman of The Pines in Oro Station has been putting huts on the ice for 40 years, but not at all for the last three.

 

“You need seven or eight inches of ice. We used to go out with five inches,” he said.

 

“But you can’t do that anymore because the temperature could go up 10 degrees in a couple of days.”

 

Chillman said the lake just froze over Wednesday night, but it was less than an inch thick.

 

“And the long-range forecast is for warmer weather, so we’re not making any plans at all.”

 

Dangerous ice conditions have already contributed to tragedy this year.

 

Two Georgina men died when their snowmobiles went through the ice on Lake Simcoe, on New Year’s Day, about one kilometre northeast of Georgina Island.

 

 

Craig Nicholson, writer of The Intrepid Snowmobiler column, said it’s the first time since 1993 there’s be adequate snow for sledders between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

 

But there still haven’t been five or six consecutive days and nights of the very cold temperatures needed for safe ice.

 

“Some ice looks fine, but it’s totally unsafe and unstable. It’s a very dangerous time,” he said.

 

“It’s cold enough that ice has formed, but there’s not enough ice.

 

“The huge dumpings of snow weaken the ice, and also insulates it (so it doesn’t freeze as well).”

 

Nicholson said it’s the same with trails over small watercourses and swamps, and that can lead to snowmobilers getting stuck there.

 

He said sledders must also be careful on any larger bodies of water, because they freeze from the shore out. The farther away from shore you go, the thinner the ice.

 

Nicholson said it’s usually mid-January before there’s a deep enough freeze to make the waterways safe, although there’s never any guarantee.

 

York Regional police, who investigated the Georgina tragedy, are telling people Lake Simcoe is not frozen over, and therefore not safe.

 

“Conditions are dangerous and extreme caution should be used,” said Const. Marina Orlovski. “Ice seldom freezes at a uniform rate.”

 

She says to be suspicious of gray, dark or porous spots in the ice, as these may be soft areas. Ice is generally strongest where it is hard and blue.

 

A near-tragedy on the ice was averted earlier this week.

 

On Monday, just before 7 p.m., Southern Georgian Bay OPP received a number of calls from Tiny Township residents - who heard a frantic call for help from a man stuck on an ice flow near Gin Island.

 

A Canadian Coast Guard helicopter was sent from Trenton to help with the search, and a 29-year-old man was rescued from the ice flow. He had been stranded for close to five hours and was treated for suspected hypothermia.

 

OPP had been warning snowmobilers and everyone else to stay off the ice. Weather conditions and a freighter accompanied by an icebreaker had made conditions dangerously unsafe for travel.

 

Although there has been a cold spell, a return to milder weather — and even rain — is being forecast for the weekend. Police are discouraging travel on any ice-covered bodies of water.

 

And snowmobilers are being reminded that if they do head onto area trails, to make sure they are open and posted as such by the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs, or local snowmobile associations.

 

They’re also asked to plan their route and tell a family member, set a return time, dress appropriately and bring a cell phone in case your machine breaks down or you become stranded.

 

January thaws not uncommon

 

David Phillips, Environment Canada’s senior climatologist, says a January thaw in Innisfil and Barrie is not unusual.

 

“But it’s not going to melt the snow,” he said. “There’s just too much of it.”

 

Usually by this time in winter, the area around Barrie has received about 100 centimetres of snow. This winter, it’s about 177 cm, Phillips said.

 

Environment Canada is calling for a high of -2 degrees Celsius on Friday, a low of -9 C, with a 60 per cent chance of snow flurries.

 

There’s also a 60 per cent chance of flurries on Saturday, with a high of 2 C. Sunday it’s supposed to be all on the plus side, with a low of 3 C and a high of 7 C.

 

Monday there’s a 60 per cent chance of showers, with a high of 10 C and a low of 7 C.

 

Environment Canada says one of the warmest days on record during the last 35 years was Jan. 13, 2005, when it was 12.5 degrees Celsius in Shanty Bay just north of Barrie.

 

The warm weather didn’t last, however.

 

The next day it was -10 C, followed by -13.5 C. And on Jan. 18 the mercury dipped to -27.5 C