Kamloops Fire and Rescue (KFR) is urging people to stay off the ice on rivers and lakes in the area as it can be dangerous at this time of year.

KFR Ice Rescue team member Jamie Chase says ice can form quickly when temperatures drop below -20 C, but says it has not been cold long enough for the ice to solidify on larger bodies of water.

“It’s especially hazardous right now because the pack ice has frozen together and its especially weak, and if someone or an animal was to fall through, it can break large portions of the ice all at once. It’s very dangerous right now for people, pets, and even for us as rescuers to go out onto the ice.”

Chase is also recommending keeping pets on a leash, noting they can have a tendency of running onto the ice, noting they fall into the water every now and then.

“Then the owner has a tendency to want to go after them and rescue their pet. We’ve had cases in the past where an animal has gone out onto the ice, fallen through and ended up in the river, and their owner has gone out and tried to rescue the pet. The pet gets themselves out, and the owner falls through the ice.”

And he says river ice is always hazardous river ice compared to lake ice.

“There’s always hidden areas where the currents change and eddys and those kinds of things where you might go from very thick ice and then just a short distance away, it will be very thin, and there’s no way to tell where the junction between the two are because of the snow on top of the ice.”

If you pet happens to run onto the ice or fall through it, Chase is recommending that you call 911.