WINNIPEG — After a weekend of record breaking temperatures, ice experts and fire officials say the days of skating and fishing on the frozen rivers are likely over.
Ice shacks and trucks were still out on the Red River in Lockport Wednesday. People fishing on the water said the ice is still thick enough.
“Taking it all in, all that I can,” ice fisher Joel Matewish said.
Aerial views of ice shacks still out on the ice near Lockport
Matewish was one of many who had their vehicle on the Red River Wednesday. He said he still feels safe driving out.
“I park it on the shore, take a walk, check out the situation. If it looks ok, then I come out.”
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According to an ice safety expert at the University of Manitoba, anyone on walking or driving on the ice this week, is putting themselves in great danger.
“At this point it’s simple, stay off the ice, because you have no way of telling if it’s thick or thin,” professor Gordon Giesbrecht said.
Whether it’s a river or lake, Giesbrecht said even walking on ice is just too dangerous right now.
RAW: Ice-breakers working on the ice Wednesday afternoon
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It’s the same story for the Assiniboine River and Red River at the Forks, said fire officials.
Marc Proulx with the Winnipeg Fire Department said the River Trail is likely closed for the season.
“They expect it to be a certain thickness, and I do not expect it will reach that with this warm weather going on,” Proulx said.
Temperatures are expected to dip below the freezing mark Wednesday night. Both Proulx and Giesbrecht said the cold weather won’t make the ice safe enough to walk on.