What looks to be a safe sheet of natural ice in Airdrie can be very tempting to run out on or skate upon during the winter. 

However, the Airdrie Fire Department has some advice for anyone who wants to test the thickness of natural ice surfaces in the city.  Well, actually, three words.

Don't do it!

With temperatures fluctuating between chilly overnight lows and reasonably warm daytime highs, the ice on Nose Creek and other natural waterways is not safe now, and, according to AFD Deputy Chief Garth Rabel, it never will be.

"We have so many beautiful natural waterways and ponds in our community.  They're lovely to have in our community but they can also pose danger.  If ice is on the water now, it is not safe ice and throughout the year we recommend you stay off anything that isn't man-made ice because we can't account for the safety of it.  But right now is definitely not a safe time to even consider going on natural waterways."

Rabel says while you may see geese or other birds sitting on the ice, it is unlikely that it can hold a person, or anyone's pet either.  Rabel says during a cold snap earlier this fall, someone found that out in the area just outside of Airdrie.  "When we did have a cold spell and we had some ice form, and we did do a rescue of a dog in our rural area that fell through the ice.  We had to rescue a pet and that puts everyone at risk as well."

Rabel says pet owners should make sure their animal is on a leash so that it doesn't lead to a second victim trying to rescue their beloved pet.

Rabel explains that anyone who falls through ice will be first met with freezing water which is a great danger for anyone not expecting it.

"They're not going to be thinking rationally.  They're going to be thrashing around and trying to get out.  You just need to avoid that by sticking to only man-made ice surfaces."

Currents under the ice can cause varying ice thickness, no matter how cold the temperature is

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