Melting ice poses safety risk

Temperatures in Mid-Missouri have been below freezing for nearly a week, causing water on many ponds, lakes, and creeks to begin freezing. The ice has grown in thickness each day, allowing many areas to become possible to walk on, but there are some safety concerns you need to watch out for.

For the first time in nearly a week, the temperatures have risen above 32 degrees and are expected to stay there. While the ice on area waterways won’t melt instantaneously, there will be a gradual melt. Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp with the Boone Country Fire Department said when it comes to ice of any kind, watch out very carefully for flaws.

“Any ice in Mid-Missouri around these parts, whether it’s lake or stream is never really safe. Just because we’ve had a week worth of freezing temperatures does not mean that ice is thick enough to carry or bare your weight, or a four wheeler. People just need to be very very cautious.”

It’s a general rule of thumb that the ice must be at least four inches before it is safe to walk on, but even then, you must look for weaknesses in the ice. Blomenkamp says you can spot the weaknesses by looking for cracks in the ice or by looking for areas that have something poking through the ice. If you spot anything out of the ordinary, it generally means the ice is to weak.

In Mid-Missouri, ice generally goes through a freeze/thaw period, which essentially makes the ice weaker. While the ice is set to begin melting through the next several days, it will take some time. Blomenkamp said be sure to alert others if you are going to walk on ice in case of an emergency. If you happen to take your dog with you and they escape onto the ice, watch out for them. The Boone County Fire Protection District has had to rescue many pets from falling through the ice.

The best thing to do, according to Blomenkamp, is to stay off the ice. For more information you can click here.