Lakes around the Prince George region might look appealing to set foot onto, but the Red Cross is warning to make sure you know that ice is thick enough.
Northern Manager Becky Row says temperatures have been fluctuating a lot lately and it’s important to measure the ice first, because even Shane Lake in city limits isn’t checked regularly.
“A person can take something that will bore through the ice and of course taking steps to be cautious, they would bore through and then use a ruler to just measure the thickness the ice has grown to,” she says.
That thickness should be 15 centimeters for walking or skating alone, 20 centimeters for multiple people, and 25 for snowmobiles.
Row says clear or blue ice is the strongest, but if it’s grey or has water on top, it is very weak.
If you are unfortunate enough to fall in, Row says the most important thing is to let people know where you are, before you leave.
“If you fall through the ice, then you want to try to brace yourself before you go under,” she advises. “Lean out over the ice, kick with your feet to get yourself up upon the ice and then roll away from the hole.”
Row stresses you want to avoid standing up, because the ice would still be so weak it would break again, so rolling to shore helps distribute your weight.
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