We watch and wait each year as the temperature drops and lakes get their armour of ice. Then we rush out on snowmobiles and on foot. Unfortunately the ice isn't always ready.
Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Dec 22/00) - In a territory where ice is an everyday sight for much of the year, emergency officials are taking extra steps to warn people of the dangers of thin ice.
| Fact - You can't tell the strength of ice just by its appearance, the daily temperature, thickness, or whether the ice is or isn't covered with snow. - Ice seldom freezes or thaws at a uniform rate. It can be a foot thick in one spot while, 10 feet away, only an inch thick. - A layer of snow insulates ice, slowing down the ice forming process. - Ice fishing requires at least four inches of clear, solid ice and a snowmobile five inches. Automobiles and light trucks require at least eight inches to a foot of ice. (Remember, however, these are guidelines.) - If you're on a snowmobile or driving a vehicle, be especially cautious at night or when it's snowing. The falling snow or darkness obscures thin ice or open holes. - Should you break through the ice, proper clothing can increase your chances of survival. An ordinary nylon snowmobile suit, if it is zipped-up, can trap air and slow the body's heat loss. - Carry a couple of large nails with caps on the sharp end and a length of light nylon rope in your pocket. The nails can help you pull yourself out of the water. Use the line to rescue someone else.
SOURCE: This and other information can be found at http://ice.ssimicro.com/ |
The campaign comes after a women died from exposure after her snowmobile broke through Prosperous ice.
"A death brings us to the scene and we look at it with fresh eyes," explained Kinney.
Freda Hope, 31, died Dec. 2. She and her partner were snowmobiling near the narrows when she crashed through the ice.
Her partner was unable to help her since he had hit a rock and was injured himself, so Hope dragged herself out of the 15 feet of slushy water and tried to take shelter in a cabin about a kilometre away.
Rescuers found her body near the locked building the next day.
A community effort
Hope's death has roused the interest of the community, said Kinney.
Two four-foot-by-four-foot yellow signs were placed at the narrows Thursday afternoon. They read, "Danger, thin ice," in red lettering.
Kinney approached Yellowknife businesses and other interested parties to gather the approximate $1,000 to make them.
The next step will be to make it easier for people to find out ice status.
The Yellowknife Fire Department, NWT Department of Transportation and SSI Micro are expanding their Web site reporting ice thickness in and around the city to include lakes along the Ingraham Trail.
People will be able to download the maps, which will also be available to the public from the fire department.
"We won't be able to tell you the ice thickness but the danger areas will be visible," said deputy fire chief Mike Lowing about the lakes on the trail.
"Starting in January we will be asking people who have historical knowledge of the areas (to point out the dangerous areas)."
Other projects will include snowmobile safety courses through the City of Yellowknife that include an ice safety component. Training instructors to provide the course throughout the NWT is being considered, as is a video demonstration of how to rescue yourself if you fall through thin ice.
The Yellowknife snowmobile club is considering assisting the efforrt by placing other hazard signs on trails.
"We have all received calls from people in the area and wanted to do something," Lowing said. "All of Yellowknife is familiar with what happened."
