Photo Courtesy Derek Brade

By Darren Rathwell

Stay clear of river in Medicine Hat: fire officials

Dec 14, 2021 | 5:33 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Sections of the South Saskatchewan River have seen a noticeable growth of ice cover recently, and the Medicine Hat Fire Service is warning residents to stay clear of the river.

With the recent warmer weather in the daytime, fire officials say people have been attracted to hiking trails that run near the river’s edge.

Every year the fire service receives dozens of calls of concern about people walking on the river’s ice top.

But they say just because you can see a buildup of ice from a close distance, it doesn’t mean it’s safe to walk on.

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“What you’re going to find is there are different pockets in the ice. So just because it’s solid, y’know, ‘here’ (in this spot), two feet over it could be unstable ice,” Rob Stock, co-aquatics team leader with the fire department, said.

Stock says anything under three inches or eight centimetres of ice isn’t safe for a single person. There can also be water flows underneath or more ice melt in certain spots.

It takes about one minute for the “cold shock response” to last, where a person hyperventilates from the shock and therefore increases the odds of drowning.

Another 10 minutes will elapse before you lose effective use of your hands, arms, and legs.

Stock says in the event of falling in, you should try and place your arms on top of the ice as your clothes will freeze to the ice surface.