'Unsteady' ice conditions leading city to warn Winnipeggers to stay away
Spring is here, and with warmer temperatures on the horizon, the City of Winnipeg is warning residents to stay off the ice while waterways are melting.
In a news release, the city said as temperatures get warmer, ice melts during the day, and then freezes at night, creating what it calls, “an unsteady ice surface.”
Lorne Edwards, media coordinator at Lifesaving Society Manitoba, said it’s a particularly vulnerable time for ice conditions.
“Because of this transitional weather… we agree completely that the safe thing to do is to stay off the ice entirely, especially when it comes to the riverways and ponds in the city of Winnipeg,” said Edwards.
Even if rivers and retention ponds appear to have a solid ice cover, the city noted it doesn’t make conditions automatically safe.
“There’s a lot going on underneath the ice that people can’t see. It’s an extremely dangerous hidden hazard,” the city said in a news release.
The society noted there is also a current underneath the already weakened ice.
“It’s been a very strange winter in that we've had freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw. So the ice has been tricky this winter in a best-case scenario. But right now, in particular, there is a great risk of it being in a weakened condition. And we certainly know that fluctuating temperatures can cause cracks in the ice as well to appear where you might not expect it," said Edwards.
The society also warns there’s more to evaluating ice safety than just measuring ice thickness.
“Sometimes you'll see slush on the ice, stay away from that, sometimes you'll see open holes of water on the ice, obviously, you want to stay away from that.”
The organization recommends anyone who goes near ice this spring to, “wear either an inflatable PFG or a full on life jacket, because it will save you the energy, it’ll keep you above the water,” and to never go by yourself.
The city says the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) has been training all winter for emergency rescue situations.
“Our first responders are prepared to help you if you get stuck on the ice or fall in,” said Matt Rollason, WFPS Water & Ice Rescue Coordinator. “But we hope you’ll staff of waterways so we don’t have to.”
According to the city, each year the WFPS responds to over 150 calls for people needing help on rivers, waterways, and swimming pools.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.