Lake Ice

Fatalities on North American Ice-March and April 2014

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A 12 year old boy walked onto an ice covered pond.  He fell through thin ice and drowned. He was an avid outdoor explorer and knew the area well.  His dad had spoken with him about the dangers of ice.  

The temperatures for the week before the accident were mostly below freezing.  The pictures in the news reports combined with the  wind and temperatures suggest that different parts of the lake caught at different times.  The ice with snow on it may have caught around Feb 26.  The bare ice may have caught as late as the night before the accident. At the cold temperatures of that night, ice can grow about an inch in 7 hours once a thin ice sheet forms.

This is an example of why ice formation is often complicated and why Gordon Giesbrecht's advice is spot on:  Stay off the ice or prepare to go through.  No one should be on ice without a lifejacket, a test pole,  ice claws, and a friend.  

Click here for more about ice and kids...

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A 56 year old man was riding at speed across Spider Lake at around 10:30 PM when he hit a rough area and was ejected from his sled. He did not survive.  His BAC was 0.14%.

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A woman (64) was walking her dogs in a park along the partially frozen Hudson River.  The temperature that day reached 54 degrees and the ice only extended about 50 feet into the river.  It was described as being two inches thick.   The dogs went  on the ice and  broke through.  The woman followed and also fell through.  She died and the dogs survived.

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A 57 year old man was riding his snowmobile at speed at about 2AM on an ice covered lake.  He lost control of the sled and was killed.  Speed and alcohol were listed at causes of the accident  

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A 43 year old fisherman fell through thawed ice on Mud Lake.  The temperature had been above  freezing for four days and it had been windy for about half of that time. There were eight other days with an average temperature well above freezing earlier in the month.   

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A 45 year old man was working on a pump in a small pond which was partially or completely ice covered  when he slipped and fell in.  The peak temperature the day of the accident was 52 deg and the previous four days had never dropped below freezing and averaged about 41 degrees so the ice was probably pretty rotten. He ended up under the ice and was recovered by emergency personnel. 

Speculatively: When he slipped, he could easily have landed on the steeply sloped, slippery, mud under the water at the edge of the pond and ended up being directed to under the ice.  If he was standing a foot or two above the pond level he would have plenty of momentum for this to happen. 

 

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A 43 year old man stepped through well thawed ice at Sunset Pond Park,  about 15-10 feet from shore.   He was found face down.  Rescue was able to get there in four minutes and had the man back on shore in three more minutes.  He later died in the hospital. 

The 5 days prior to the accident had temperatures mostly above freezing, reaching 55 and 60 degrees (with sun and wind) the last two days in March.  April 1 was colder and may have made a little overnight ice.  The ice in the area of the pond where the accident took place largely went out by late on April 2 when it was sunny and temperatures reached 41 degrees.

   

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A 56 year old, very experienced kite sailor went sailing with 30 of his friends on Lake Sunapee on their last big outing for the 2014 ice season.  Early in the tour he flew his kite to the ice and laid down.  His friends came quickly, assessed the situation,  performed CPR, called 911 and contacted his wife.  He had a heart attack and passed away.  It turns out the man and wife were aware of this possibility and that they were glad he was able to be doing something he loved when he passed on.  After things settled down, the tour was continued in his honor.