With thin ice danger present on all Minnesota bodies of water, here's how to keep your children safe
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources encourages everyone to stay off the ice, especially with our rising temperatures.
Nicole Biagi, the DNR's ice safety coordinator, says her team went out to look at various bodies of water earlier this week.
She says ice is melting earlier than usual this season, so it's important to make sure kids know and understand the danger not only on lakes and rivers, but also our smaller neighborhood ponds and drainage ditches.
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Ice is quickly warming from above and below
Biagi says vegetation is already starting to rot in ponds and ditches, causing surface ice to melt from below.
"Something that happens in, in any body of water where there is vegetation but these small ponds with wetlands, a lot of vegetation it decays and when it's decaying it releases gas bubbles which bring warm water up from the bottom and can melt the ice from underneath where you can't see it melting, which creates a big hazard," she said.
She says with ice melting from underneath and the sun melting it from above, the conditions are even more dangerous.
"They're really a magnet for young children"
Biagi says at least eight kids have fallen through the ice and died in these smaller bodies of water in the last 25 years.
"A lot of times, you know, kids are just playing in the yard or playing at the park and there might be a small pond that they don't understand the danger of," Biagi said. "If they fall through and they gasp from the cold water, I can just take one breath and choking in that cold water for them to drown."
The conditions also make water rescues even more difficult. Biagi says adults shouldn't attempt to brave thin ice.
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The essential safety gear
She says people with children who live near smaller bodies of water should have these items on hand:
* Throw rope: "If your child does fall through, you can stay on shore and throw this to them and pull them to safety," Biagi said.
* Foam life jacket: "Inflatable life jackets are known to not inflate properly in cold water below 50 degrees, so we recommend always having foam, something that's inherently buoyant in the winter," Biagi said. "Ice can potentially pierce the inflatable."
* Whistle: "You can make sure you get other people's attention, call for help," Biagi said. "You can lose your breath quickly when you fall into the water and it's hard to yell for help."
All and all, Biagi says it's best to wait until next winter to venture out on the ice.
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