Stay Off Ice Shelves

Events Calendar

ice shelf safety graphic

complied from several sources

On Wednesday of this week a person fell through the Lake Michigan ice shelf near South Haven, Michigan. They were able to pull themselves out of the water. Stories like this one do not usually end as well.

When the shore is frozen, it is nearly impossible to tell where land ends and the water begins. Wind and wave action create pockets within the ice shelf making it unstable. As seen in the graphic, shafts in the shelf can make it impossible to get out without help.

Emergency personnel are endangered as well when effecting a rescue. Although this example was not shelf ice, the drownings on Round Lake earlier this winter in Mason County demonstrate the problem. Emergency teams could not get to the scene for hours as they also kept breaking through the ice.

Do not let pets venture on the ice either. A dog was rescued this week from ice on the Detroit River. Animals do not have some sixth sense that will keep them safe. Dogs, deer, etc, routinely drown from breaking through ice.

As beautiful as the winter shoreline may be, stay off!

The Coast Guard says, "No ice is safe ice."

See news story about person falling through ice shelf at TV 13


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Brothers Die After Falling Through Ice

Events Calendar

Island Lake, Kalkaska (from hybrid imagery)

compiled from several sources

Two brothers died this past weekend after falling through the ice on Island Lake southwest of Kalkaska, Michigan. They were 22 and 13 years old. A third boy, aged 14, managed to crawl back onto solid ice and call for help. But it was too late to save the boy and the young man. The 22-year-old was found quickly and taken to the hospital, but was not able to be revived. His younger brother was found the next morning in about 8 feet of water.

This is surely a tragedy for the families involved.

It also provides a good opportunity to remind us all of ice safety, espcially since winter seems to have come early to West Michigan.

Your safety is your responsibility! These tips are from the Michigan DNR:
• There is not a reliable "inch-thickness" to determine if ice is safe.
• You can test ice thickness and quality using a spud, needle bar or auger.
• Strongest ice: clear with bluish tint.
• Weak ice: ice formed by melted and refrozen snow. Appears milky.
• Stay off ice with slush on top. Slush ice is only half as strong as clear ice and indicates the ice is not freezing from the bottom.
• If there’s ice on the lake but water around the shoreline, be extra cautious.

See more ice safety tips from the Michigan DNR
See news article about the drownings at UpNorth Live


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Sensible Decisions Averted Winter Tragedy

a news release of the Michigan DNR

A recent ice rescue on Hubbard Lake in Alcona County by Michigan conservation officers highlights the importance of knowing what to do if you find yourself in an emergency situation while enjoying Michigan's winter recreation opportunities.

In the early morning hours of Thursday, Feb. 19, a concerned mother called the Department of Natural Resources' Report All Poaching (RAP) Line, the 24-hour law enforcement hotline, to report that her son had not returned home from ice fishing on Hubbard Lake. The man had planned on being home by 7:30 p.m., she said.

Conservation Officers Brian Engelhard and Warren MacNeill both responded. Weather conditions on the lake were severe - temperatures below 10 degrees and blowing snow with visibility of less than 40 feet. The officers proceeded to perform a grid search on the lake.

At 4:45 a.m., the officers located the man in his pickup truck, cold but alive. The truck had become stuck and the man made the decision to stay inside the vehicle. Eventually the truck ran out of gas, but he remained in the truck, using a small portable propane heater from his shanty until it ran out of fuel. The man then piled articles on top of himself to conserve body heat.

As the officers were searching the lake, the man's family retrieved global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the location where the man was previously fishing with a friend. This information was invaluable in this situation, said Lt. Creig Grey, DNR law enforcement supervisor in Roscommon.

"This situation easily could have ended in a tragedy, but this man and his family knew the importance of being safe when going out on the ice," Grey said. "His family knew when to expect him home, they knew approximately where he was going to fish, he made the decision to stay in his vehicle to try to stay warm, and the family knew that with recent warmer weather and the current weather conditions they needed to contact authorities for help. These are all important reminders for anyone venturing out on the ice this winter."

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Ice Dunes

ice dunes on Lake Michigan (photo by J Young)

based on a news article in the Erie (Pennsylvania) Times News, "Inside Ice Dunes," by Cody Switzer, Jan 24, 2009

Frozen edges are a feature seen on almost every shoreline of the Great Lakes. The waves known as "ice dunes," "ice ridges," or "the ice foot" form where the waves of the lake meet the frozen water's edge and clumps of snow. Dan Powell, a ranger at Presque Isle, Pennsylvania, State Park said, "They can form overnight."

A study by M. Leonard Bryan and Melvin G. Marcus of the University of Michigan has published a report on the phenomenon titled "Physical Characteristics of Near-Shore Ice Ridges." When snow falls into the water it does not melt instantly. Some of the flakes attach to ice floating in the water, and some snowflakes are joined together by wave action. The ice is washed toward shore and builds up in layers. Two important requisites of icefoot development are sub-freezing atmospheric temperatures, and open water bodies that, because of their large size, remain ice free well into the season of sub-freezing air temperatures.

Add to that wave spray, which quickly freezes and another layer is added. Add more snowfall and the layers continue to build. Ice dunes of 6 feet or higher are relatively common where there are waves. But where there is little wave action, the ice dunes can remain relatively flat.

The smaller Great Lakes, like Erie and Ontario may freeze more completely than the larger ones. The result is more flat ice dunes. "That's because you don't have the wave action," said Kathleen Ryan, environmental education specialist at the Presque Isle.

ice at the lake edge (photo by J Young)

The dunes buffer the shore from battering by winds and storms, and help hold sand in place. But ice dunes can also be dangerous. They can be hollow or riddles with caves because of the way they are formed. Even when they look stable, or even quite thick, a high ice dune could have a thin crust. If one broke through they could fall directly into freezing water at the bottom of a sheer "well." It would be impossible to get out without help.

But they can be beautiful to look at. Ryan encourages people to observe the winter shoreline from safe distances. "I think a lot of people think of sand and sun," she said. "But now it's like you are looking at the Arctic, and it's such an interesting environment."

See "Physical Characteristics of Near-Shore Ice Ridges"
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