Stay off the ice at Vancouver’s Trout Lake, other frozen ponds, park board warns

With temperatures plunging across the Lower Mainland, the Vancouver Park Board is warning people not to venture onto the ice at Trout Lake.

Large portions of the lake in John Hendry Park remain liquid, but an ice sheet has begun to creep outward from the shores.

A spokesperson for the park board said staff had inspected multiple sites on Thursday, and posted signage warning people not to venture on the ice.

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The ice surface was averaging 1.25 cm to 1.9 cm (1/2 inch to 3/4 inch) as of Thursday afternoon.

Ice needs to be more than 12 cm (five inches) thick before it is safe for people to walk on, the spokesperson said, a process that usually takes up to 14 days of cold weather.

That means would-be skaters will likely be out of luck, with forecasts calling for temperatures to climb back above freezing over the weekend.

The board is also warning people to keep their pets on leashes near the lake and any other frozen body of water in the city.

Dogs have been known to run onto the ice to chase birds, prompting their owners to follow them out when it is not safe.