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Officials are urging caution as skaters and fishers head out onto the early-winter ice.
Videos taken over the weekend showed crowds of people skating on clear, smooth ice on the Portage.
At least one person fell through, though. The Hancock Fire Department’s Ice Rescue Team pulled a person out near Navy Street Sunday afternoon around 1:00. They report the victim was not injured.
A Stephenson man drowned last week while fishing on Shakey Lakes in Menominee County.
The Portage is notorious for inconsistent ice conditions, with problem areas most prevalent around the Lift Bridge towers, and in areas where creeks flow in.
Our recent snowfall will exacerbate the problem. Snow insulates the ice from the cold air above, while the warmer water below melts it.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has also issued safety reminders for ice fishers.
Dress warmly and bring a life jacket, ice picks and a cell phone that will have a signal while you’re on the ice. Avoid areas of ice with protruding debris and areas with weak ice, which will appear milky. Never fish alone, and always tell someone where you’re going and when you expect to return.
Use extreme caution if temperatures fluctuate. Repeated thawing and refreezing weakens ice. There is no reliable thickness standard one can use to assume ice is safe.
