‘Ice is unpredictable’: How to stay safe on frozen waterbodies in Manitoba

Officials are reminding Manitobans to take safety precautions on the ice after several deadly incidents. CTV’s Harrison Shin reports.

A water safety expert is warning Manitobans to be careful around ice following two recent incidents involving people and vehicles falling through the ice.

Manitoba RCMP responded to two incidents on Tuesday in different areas of the province where people went through the ice. One incident took place on Buffalo Point First Nation, where a 71-year-old man is believed to have fallen through ice while driving a side-by-side. The other incident took place on Cedar Lake, when a truck went through the ice with two people inside.

In both cases, police have said the people remain missing. On Friday, Sgt. Paul Manaigre, media relations officer for RCMP, told CTV News there have been five ice-related incidents since late November, leaving four dead and one rescued.

“That’s… I would think, at most, is your average for a winter – but we’re only in December, so that’s concerning,” Manaigre said.

Christopher Love, president of water safety training company WaveCrest Aquatics, said ice in Manitoba has not had a chance to properly form on water this winter.

“It’s been cold, yes, but we’ve had yo-yoing temperatures, and because of that, in many parts of the province, ice is unpredictable.”

Love said Thursday’s blizzard still isn’t enough for safe ice to form in southern Manitoba.

“We want calm conditions that are in the range of like -10C to -20C and consistently cold like that for two, three days in a row to give you nice, strong, hard ice that then is useful for the activities people want to go out and do,” he said.

Gordon Giesbrecht, professor emeritus from the University of Manitoba, said four steps can be done if the vehicle falls into water.

“Take your seatbelt off, open your windows and get out immediately. And if you have children, get them out ahead of you.”

In addition, people should check for the thickness of ice, minimum four inches of clear, strong ice for walking, six inches for snowmobiles and a foot if one intends to drive a truck on it, Giesbrecht said.

Love said people should wear a floater coat if they are going on the ice to allow them to keep their head above water if they do go in.

“Even in our coldest winters, ice is still unpredictable here in this province,” he said. “A big thing to think about is if you’re going out on the ice, you always need to be prepared to go through it and into cold water.”

Love recommended speaking with locals who know the area about the ice conditions and be aware they can constantly change.

“Even if you go to the same place multiple times, the first time you go, it might be fine, but ice can change over time, and it can become more dangerous,” he said.

For snowmobiles, local snowmobile clubs are checking the ice on its areas, according to Yvonne Rideout, executive director of the Snowmobilers of Manitoba.

“It happens regularly because there could be a changing current. There could be a shift with a body of water like we’ve seen in Lake Winnipeg – it can, all of a sudden, ice walls almost pop in. So it has to be consistently checked.”