Here's a full transcript of the episode.
Rob: "Ask the Expert" on the air with Greg Marcyniuk, Heritage Insurance in downtown Moose Jaw corner of First and Fairford. Greg, it's that time of year and it's an exciting time of year almost ice fishing season. And the ice is getting thicker and thicker. We might be out there safely for the Christmas season.
Greg: I'm gonna say well before the Christmas season. It's cool right now, so, I think we're gonna start seeing ice fishers out here shortly. But the biggest thing you wanna do is I've got three steps that actually could save your life. And these three steps required to access the ice safely. So, a complete visual inspection first and foremost. Noting the color of the ice is the other thing, and measuring the thickness of the ice. So, the things that you gotta consider for ice safety is the size and the body of water, movement of the water, you know, including current tides, which we don't really have. But we do have currents, especially out at Diefenbaker. The current temperatures, recent and upcoming temperature fluctuations in the water level, and also the depth of the water under the ice. So, the steps in detail is, first of all, you wanna really take a visual inspection.
Now, if any of these appear whatsoever out on the ice, just do not go out on it. If there's cracks, breaks, or holes in the ice. If water's on top of the ice. If water is flowing onto the ice. If the ice is soft or mushy as well. Flowing springs and spring-fed ponds or lakes, which I know there are a lot of springs feeding into Buffalo Pound. If the ice appears to have frozen and then thawed and refrozen again, you definitely don't wanna go on there. And if there's a lot of snow on the ice, be very aware because ice will tend to warm up and snow acts as an insulator on that. The other thing is the ice color, and very important here. If it's dull gray, definitely a sign of unsafe ice and this is just something that will not support a lot of weight.
Opaque ice or snow ice is only half as strong as blue ice. So, you really have to be careful with this and make sure you measure it properly. And take total precautions on this because it even catches people that have been very much on the ice and they go through. The best ice is the blue ice, it's clear, it's strong. And the color of the ice of all that I've just described deepens with increase in thickness because natural water is turquoise, so blue. And it forms temperatures well below 8 degrees Celsius, which we've had this last while. Our final step is ice measurement. And first and foremost, is you wanna go out and you wanna test it. Don't go out real deep and again, utilize a bunny system. You should probably have a rope on just to be safe.
Go out there and either use a hatchet or best thing is an ice auger. And another thing to remember is that on the lakes, the ice is not uniform throughout because water is flowing, so you will have to be very careful. If you're just going out by yourself, 5-inches thick is what is recommended, minimum. If you have a group of people, you wanna have a minimum of 8-inches. If you're going out on a snowmobile, they're saying a minimum of 8-inches. And again, you always wanna keep in mind that that thickness does not stay consistent. And then for driving on ice, you want a minimum of 12-inches for a light vehicle. And again, remember this is for blue ice, not where there's heaves, not where there's any opaque covering.
Rob: For these tips and all your insurance needs, drop into Heritage Insurance corner of First and Fairford in downtown Moose Jaw, or you can also find these tips online.
Greg: That's correct at heritageinsurance.ca.
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