Crazy temps make ice fishing dangerous in suburbs
Mild temperatures, little snowcover and sunny days has experts warning skaters, fishermen and others to stay off the ice on lakes and rivers in northern Illinois.
Fox Lake Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Tom Preidis said the Chain O' Lakes and Fox River and other local bodies of water are "honeycombing" as they melt, causing unsteady ice that can give way without notice.
"I've never seen ice conditions like this, and I've been on that ice for a long time," Preidis said. "Someone can be standing on 4 inches of ice, take two steps, and be standing on 1 inch of ice. It's impossible to tell where the thick ice is and isn't."
The warnings come nearly one week after the body of Justin Ribar, 29, was pulled from Pistakee Bay near Johnsburg. Ribar, of Wonder Lake, was fishing when he fell through the ice about 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3. His body wasn't found until Saturday morning.
Preidis, who was driving the rescue air boat on Pistakee Bay after Ribar went in, said conditions on the lake are dangerous.
"Being out there Friday night, I saw a pocket of 1-inch ice next to 3-inch ice," he said. "Worse, you can't see the difference from the two. They look the same."
Steven Daly, a research hydraulic engineer and ice expert from the Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, N.H., said honeycombing ice is a result of the exceptionally mild temperatures and, more important, the way snow has rapidly melted on top of the ice on lakes this year.
Sunlight hitting lake beds with little to no snow covering causes the ice to melt from within, Daly said.
The end result is ice that looks safe but isn't.
"When you look at it, you can't tell for sure if it's 4 inches or 1 inch of ice because it's been melting from inside or underneath due to solar penetration," Daly said. "It makes the ice exceptionally dangerous to walk on because you'll go from thick ice to thin ice without ever noticing the difference."
He said subzero temperatures for a couple of days or a week are needed to restrengthen the ice, and the lake ice doesn't strengthen much when the temperature falls below 32 degrees overnight, then warms up during the day.
"The ice will strengthen, but it has to be freezing for a couple of days straight," he said. "The ice will need to harden, then start to grow again."
Rich Popowczak, the owner of Chain O' Lakes Sports bait shop on Route 12 in Fox Lake, said these are the worst winter ice conditions he's ever seen.
"I wouldn't go out there right now, no way," Popowczak said. "You just don't know what is under the surface right now."
He said it's usually safe to ice fish on the Chain from mid-December through mid-March but isn't sure if the ice was ever stable this winter.
"At one point, it was safe near the deeper water, so people used planks and piers to get out there, but that's long gone," he said. "It's hurt all the bait shops in the area, including mine."
Mike Jackson, the outdoor columnist for the Daily Herald, said ice fishing is still safe on the Chain as long as people stay smart and limit fishing to the shallower shorelines and channels.
"Also, without question, people should be wearing a personal flotation device," Jackson said. "There are also spikes that can be purchased so if someone falls in, they can climb out. Those things will save your life."