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The City of Warman has closed all of its storm retention ponds for recreational activities after a teenage girl fell through a thin patch of ice.
Warman Fire Chief Russ Austin said that on Monday, he received a call at home from an ex-firefighter in the community saying a teenage girl showed up at his door drenched from the chest down. The girl said she fell through the ice on a pond.
Austin said the fire department confirmed there was a five-foot-deep hole where the girl fell, which he suspects could be caused by runoff from the roads.
He noted the girl wasn’t hurt.
Austin said ice thickness is usually not an issue until testing begins in March, but with the warm weather, he started testing again last week.
“I think moving water and runoff is causing thin spots,” he said. “If we went 20 feet any direction from where the hole was, the ice is thicker than our drill bit.”
Austin said ice checks start in the fall for the storm retention ponds in Warman, noting that 12 inches of ice is what the fire department considers safe.
Austin explained there isn’t any way to tell where the ice is thin because of the runoff, and it would be risky to open ponds up until the runoff stops and there is a stretch of cold weather.
“I’ve been doing this for 30 years and this is the first time that I’ve had to close ponds, or put out cautions in early February,” he said. “The rain and the melting snow have made (the ponds) really rough and un-skatable anyway.”
On top of watching for ice safety signs, Austin said it’s important to watch the colour of the ice before thinking about stepping on it, and that clear strong ice is a clear, bluish-green colour.
Ice that appears to be white or brown is a danger sign, he added.
“Brown ice is usually when it starts rotting in the spring, and white ice means that there has been freezing and thawing at the top,” he said.
Austin also said kids should make sure they are accompanied by an adult before heading out on the ice.
“Just stay alert to changing conditions, especially right now,” he said.
According to the City of Saskatoon, the fire department tested a number of recreational use ponds across the city Tuesday and determined that ice depths are currently still safe for recreational use.
The city said further testing will be done based on weather conditions.