Okotoks firefighters are working to educate residents before they find themselves on thin ice.
Firefighter Bob Button said people walking on the Sheep River ice has been a problem throughout the year, but a particularly dangerous one as spring approaches.
“As temperatures rise and fall, it creates pockets underneath the ice that you don't see until you step through one, because that appears to be solid.”
Button and his colleagues at the Okotoks Fire Department have been conducting patrols along the river path system hoping to educate citizens and prevent them from going out onto the ice before tragedy strikes.
He described the scene as he arrived at a call of two families playing on the Sheep River’s ice in the first week of March.
“There was a phone call from a concerned resident that there were a couple of families with lawn chairs and children playing on the ice," he said.
“I was actually shocked when I saw two moms with six children between the two of them playing on the edge of the open ice — we call it an ice shelf.”
The children ranged in age from two to eight.
He said RCMP that had approached the scene from the other side of the river had actually found one of the children in distress after nearly falling into the water on a broken ice shelf.
Okotoks RCMP Const. Mark Harvey was at the scene.
“The ice was pointed down, at a 45 degree angle and she started to slide in, but was able to get herself back out,” said Harvey.
“Everything’s starting to melt and obviously the river’s opening up more.”
He agreed ice on the river is never a safe place to be, especially with Alberta’s shifting temperatures.
“Ice is so unpredictable," he said.
The families were educated on the dangers and went on their way.
Button reinforced that slipping below the ice on moving water is almost certain death.
“If a child falls in the water, and especially wearing snowsuits, you might as well add anchors to what they're wearing, because they will swiftly fall under the ice shelf," he said.
“And with that, they're gone. Unfortunately, they're gone.”
The appearance of stability and thickness in the ice can be a deadly illusion, he added.
“They think that the ice is safe, because it's thick, but an ice shelf is actually one of the most dangerous rescues for us, because it's very unstable," Button said.
“And if it's dangerous for us, as rescuers, imagine what it is to little children that are not comfortable and confident and swimming.”
Another misconception is the safety of shallow areas.
“Even something knee deep, the river is still strong enough to be able to swift them under the ice," he said.
The issue isn’t limited to families or children, but people walking their dogs on the ice as well.
Button recalled an incident in the 2000s where Okotoks firefighters responded to a call that a dog had fallen through the ice while fetching a ball.
The second it went through the ice, the dog was gone.
“The ball ended up on the water, and so did the dog, they went underneath the ice," he said. “It's dangerous.
“There is no flowing, frozen water that is safe to use. Ever.”
Another focus for the Town’s responders is storm ponds, which Button said are deceptively unsafe.
Salt and other agents filter through the ponds, which can compromise the integrity of the already uneven ice.
This in addition to the water moving underneath, as water filters in and filters out.
“The unevenness in the storm pond being caused and created by different water levels, air pockets, salt, all that locked into the ice creates air pockets, and of course you could fall through the air pockets," he said.
Another hazard waits underneath.
“A common thing for us to hear is, ‘Well it's only like knee deep, so we're not going to drown.’
“What you don’t know underwater is soot and sand, that acts like quicksand.
“The more you wiggle the deeper you go, and you’re not going to get out.”
These aren’t your grandpa’s pond either.
“It’s not like when we grew up, where we would have an actual pond," he said. "That’s not a storm pond, it’s a natural resource. It doesn’t experience the same circumstances that a storm pond does
“Of course we would never deem a natural pond to be safe either.”
Caution is important at all times of the year though, said Button.
“Whether it's in the summertime or the wintertime it’s very important to pay attention to your surroundings," he said. "And what appears to be safe."
Originally published March 14, 2021 8:00 AM, updated March 27, 2021 12:35 PM
