Reports indicate a truck went through the ice on the Willow Flowage this week. No injuries were reported, but a DNR recreational safety warden says the recent warming spell has changed the dynamic out on the hard water.
Northeast Wisconsin Warden Jeremy Cords says the melt water caused by warmer temperatures causes runoff from melting snow. Even though that water is cold, it is warmer than the ice.
He says you can see how this rotting of the ice happen when you pour a cold drink....
"....imagine a glass full of ice cubes. You take your can of pop out of a refrigerator and you pour it on top of the ice cubes, what happens? The ice cube starts to melt on top and so does everything underneath it. The temperature of the pop is going to be higher than the ice cubes, even though they are both cool, there still going to have that negative effect on the ice....."
Cords says every time you go out on ice your taking your life into your own hands, but the melting has made the ice very thin in some spots. He says even if the weather turns colder this weekend, it takes several days of single-digit temperatures in a row to firm up the ice again. He says if you decide to go out, the weakest points are where there are tire tracks or the ice has been compacted.
He says check the ice depth as you move out...
"...if you're looking at driving a vehicle out there, recommendations are 16 to 18 inches of solid, clear ice in order to support that...."
He says ice varies from spot to spot. He says stay out of areas you're not familiar with at night. He says if you see a dark spot stay away as that is thin ice.
