Safety experts are warning Manitobans of dangerous ice conditions this winter.
The Life Saving Society of Manitoba’s Christopher Love says while people want to spend time on frozen water this weekend, he advises against it.
“Stay off the ice because it is very unpredictable with all of the changes in temperatures we have had over the past month,” he said.
Love says if people are going out despite the warnings, they must be prepared to go through the ice into cold water.
While avoiding the ice altogether is the best choice, he says there are ways people can test the ice quality before going out if need be.
He says ice that is black or has a slight blue tinge tends to be the best.
Dangerous ice has proven fatal across the country this holiday season. A family of three died in Alberta in the lead-up to Christmas when their UTV fell through the ice… and two teens met a similar fate on the Rideau River in Ottawa.
Eric Labaupa of Kickerfish Media says even experienced fishers will want to be extra cautious this year as conditions are far from normal.
“We are about to enter 2024 and it is not usual where we would already have like two and a half feet on our rivers,” he said.
Labaupa says to take extra caution near any outflows – whether it be sewer systems or creeks – as the moving water may have made the ice nearby fragile.