Ice safety

The Wright County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s assistance in staying off area frozen lakes, streams, ponds and other bodies of water until ice conditions improve. The recent change of weather has degraded what little ice there is. Venturing onto thin ice not only places your life in danger but that of First Responders called to assist if/when someone breaks through the ice.
The Wright County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, wants to remind the public to use caution around frozen lakes, streams, ponds and other bodies of water.
Tragically, every year in Minnesota someone will lose their life due to falling through thin ice that they thought was safe. The sheriff’s fffice warns that ice is never 100% safe. Ice seldom freezes uniformly and can go from being a foot thick in one location and then only an inch or two thick a few feet away.
The DNR recommends the following ice thickness when utilizing frozen waterways:
• 2” or less – STAY OFF
• 4” for walking
• 5” for a snowmobile or ATV
• 8” – 12” for a car or small
truck
• 12” – 15” for a medium
truck
For more information on ice safety visit the Minnesota DNR link: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/
safety/ice/thickness.html