You’re on thin ice! Officials warn people to stay off frozen water
Posted December 14, 2016 10:42 am.
Last Updated December 14, 2016 3:25 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
ABBOTSFORD (NEWS 1130) – It’s going to be very cold outside for the next little while with freezing temperatures expected for, at least, the rest of the week.
Just because Lost Lagoon in Vancouver and other lakes might be frozen over, it doesn’t mean they’re safe to walk across.
Sean Healy with the Vancouver Park Board says they’ve put up signs warning people to stay off.
“Lost Lagoon does have a skiff of ice but it’s definitely not thick enough for anybody to venture out on. In the Park Board, we look for for four to five inches or about 12 centimetres of ice.”
That’s true out in Abbotsford as well, where the city has put up signs at Mill Lake and other locations warning people they’re on thin ice. “We haven’t had any reports of anybody on the ice or falling in the ice. But we strongly urge everyone to be safe and to stay off all frozen bodies of water,” says Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun.
He adds this is the longest cold spell his community has seen in a decade. “If you fall in — the water is cold and unless there is somebody there to help you right away, hypothermia is going to set in pretty quick and there may be a loss of life and it might be your own,” he adds.
Burnaby Parks warns temperatures here have never been cold enough long enough for skating on Deer Lake or Burnaby Lake to be safe.
NEWS 1130 Meteorologist Russ Lacate says the mercury tonight drops to about -9 across much of the region and over the weekend you can expect it to hit -10 in the morning.
