‘No ice is safe ice’: Police warn of snowmobile dangers on lakes and rivers
Posted March 13, 2021 8:04 am.
Last Updated March 13, 2021 9:45 am.
If you’re hoping for one last snowmobile ride in cottage country this weekend, police have a warning for you: no ice is safe ice.
“The risk is very high right now,” says Sgt. Steve Black with South Simcoe Police. “The ice is not safe at all.”
Twice in the last two weeks they’ve responded to snowmobiles going through the ice on the Holland River, north of Toronto. Nobody was hurt and it appears everyone walked home, leaving their machines in the water. But first responders still had to come out and investigate, meaning the possibility of a water rescue put their lives at risk.
“We get the phone call saying that a snowmobile has been located in the ice. We use all the resources we can to confirm that there was no one on the snowmobile,” says Black.
“Just think of all the lives they could be endangering if they make the choice to go out.”
The *cold* facts: South Simcoe Police report two snowmobiles went through the ice on the Holland River in Bradford in the last week. Everyone made it out of the water alright. Police say if your machine goes through the ice, don’t just leave it there, let them know. @680NEWS pic.twitter.com/36tTowlgDM
— Mark Douglas (@DouglasCityNews) March 10, 2021
Black says the ice is very unsafe right now, due to the recent warm weather and rain.
“A lot of the times, even with the currents underneath the ice, we don’t know exactly what the conditions are and because of that, people are taking that very high risk at any time when they step onto the ice.”
We deployed our drone this afternoon to check on 2 men on the ice at Little Cedar Point #LakeSimcoe. A concerned citizen called us fearing they were in distress up to 800 metres out. All was fine. The 2 ice anglers walked safely to shore. Please stay off the ice! #noiceissafeice pic.twitter.com/6jDhjKygWX
— South Simcoe Police (@SouthSimcoePS) March 11, 2021
Black says police do not have the authority to order people to stay off what looks like a frozen river, so he can only urge everyone to think about the risk they’re taking on their snowmobiles and ATV’s.
Black also reminds all the ice fishers out there that the deadline to get their huts off the ice is this Monday.
@Innisfil_FIRE performed an ice rescue on Lake Simcoe today. Ice has broken up and they couldn’t make it to shore. High winds and warm temps have made the ice very unsafe. A little fish isn’t worth the risk. No ice is safe ice. pic.twitter.com/cmM0wl2A2k
— Innisfil Fire (@Innisfil_FIRE) March 12, 2021
