Water Security Agency issues warning about ice thickness

The Water Security Agency is reminding people to make sure ice on bodies of water in the province is thick enough to walk, drive or snowmobile on.

The warning comes just days after two men and a girl died after a group of people fell through the ice on Humboldt Lake.

“Ice thickness can be unpredictable and difficult to assess at times,” the WSA said in a release. “It does not freeze at a uniform thickness and its strength can vary considerably from one area to another.”

The agency said people always should check the thickness of ice before travelling on it.

The ice should be four inches thick before it can be walked on, eight inches thick before a snowmobile or ATV can be driven on it, 12 inches thick before a car or light truck can be driven on it, and more than 12 inches thick if a heavy truck is being driven onto it.

That said, the agency said thickness is just one factor to consider when evaluating the safety of ice. The best ice on which to travel is clear, hard ice, according to the WSA.

“Ice should be re-evaluated on every date visited, even if it was safe on a previous date,” the agency said. “The date that ice becomes safe at a site varies year over year requiring the verification of the thickness each year as opposed to relying on past experiences.”

The agency urged people to avoid ice that looks slushy, has thawed and then froze again, is near moving water, has layering that was caused by sudden temperature changes, or has structures on it like pressure ridges.