NDOW: Ice on Western Nevada waterways is never safe or thick enough to support humans
While we’ve experienced fits of bitter cold weather around Western Nevada this winter, many local water ways may indeed have thin layers of ice on them but venturing out on that ice at any time, regardless, is dangerous and should never be tried, a Nevada Department of Wildlife official said.
On Thursday, a 13-year-old boy died after falling through thin ice at a frozen lake south of Reno. Two other juveniles were on the lake when the 13-year-old fell and was submerged in the water for 30 to 40 minutes.
Nevada Department of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy notes that bodies of water throughout Western Nevada undergo constant freezing and thawing through winter and spring. So even if there is an extended cold snap, the ice will never be stable, he said.
In midwinter water surveys around western Nevada, except for rivers, lakes and ponds had between 80 to 100 percent ice coverage, but that is only a very thin layer, said Healy.
“You would never want to mess with going out on the ice on any body of water in Western Nevada at any time,” said Healy. “There is not enough ice out there. It is a foreign environment and is never safe. Find an ice rink instead.”
He said that Sierra lakes and those found in Eastern Nevada do get anywhere from 6 to 14 inches of ice in winter, but in Western Nevada, the climate never shows any sustained amount of cold. Go here for an an article by Outdoor columnist Don Quilici on ice safety and where people can venture out in the Sierra to fish or skate.
“Locally the ice is an unfortunate attraction for kids, but you really do have to respect the conditions. It is not something you want to mess with and, well, unfortunately something like this happened,” said Healy of Thursday's tragedy.