Ice anglers are being warned to stay off Lake Simcoe after York Regional Police rescued three people last week.
In a tweet, YRP said: "If our 24-foot air-boat the Dawaabin is your ride home, you've probably not had a good day ice fishing. That was the case for 3 over-eager anglers last week on Lake Simcoe."
If our 24-foot airboat the Dawaabin is your ride home, you've probably not had a good day ice fishing.
— York Regional Police (@YRP) January 24, 2023
That was the case for 3 over-eager anglers last week on Lake Simcoe. Luckily, no one was hurt.
Please stay off the ice. Conditions are dangerous. pic.twitter.com/F74LuuX2uB
It warned that conditions are dangerous and advised peopled to stay off the ice.
Police shared a video from March 2021 to remind residents about unsafe ice conditions. In that video, police had also been rescuing people with the air-boat after they ended up on an ice floe and drifted to an island in the lake with no way back.
To learn more about ice safety, Marine Unit Staff Sergeant Aaron Busby has a few important tips in the video below 👇https://t.co/aXu0Uf10ji
— York Regional Police (@YRP) January 24, 2023
Staff Sgt. Aaron Busby with the marine unit said, "No ice is safe ice."
Ice with patches is especially dangerous, Busby said, as once an ice flow has broken off, it will continue to break and get smaller, even if the ice is thick enough to support your weight.
However, for anyone who is ice fishing or snowmobiling, he encourages you to wear a full floater suit and something to keep you dry and warm, to keep a fully charged cellphone in a waterproof container, know where you are going and make sure someone else knows where you'll be, and plan ahead.
