In the last few weeks, no fewer than ten people (and one dog) have been pulled from the ice on Oneida Lake.
On Feb. 22, two adults and six children became trapped on the ice near Bridgeport when wind broke up the surface of the thin ice; they had to be ferried off the ice by emergency personnel. Barely 24 hours later, Albert Merola Jr. of Cicero and his golden retriever, Montana, fell through the ice while taking pictures along the lake’s south shore. State Trooper Ron Morse also became trapped in the freezing water while attempting a rescue. Volunteers from the South Bay Fire Department and other departments along the shore, as well as EMTs, had to pull the two men and the canine out.
Fortunately, in both incidents, no one was hurt, and everyone is expected to be okay without suffering any ill effects. But the rescues have brought significant attention to the lake in this particularly warm winter.
According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, ice fishermen and others on the ice should rely on the following table:
Ice thickness Permissible Load
Two inches One person on foot
Three inches Group in single file
Seven and a half inches One car (two tons)
Eight inches Light truck (two and a half tons)
10 inches Truck (three and a half tons)
12 inches Heavy truck (seven to eight tons)
15 inches 10 tons
20 inches 15 tons
This guide is based on clear, blue, hard ice on non-running water. Slush ice is about 50 percent weaker, and clear, blue ice on running water is about 20 percent weaker.
After the recent incidents, Onondaga County Department of Emergency Management Commissioner Kevin Wisely has advised that everyone should stay off the ice on Oneida Lake if it’s less than four inches thick.
“Four inches and five inches, they say, is okay to walk on,” he said. “Five to six inches for perhaps a snowmobile or ATV, and you have to recognize that ice is never 100 percent safe.”
According to data provided to the Star-Review by Bob Burbank, who runs oneidalake.com, which has a wealth of information about the lake’s history, recreation opportunities and more, there have been no less than 20 incidents similar to those that took place last week — daring rescues of anglers stranded on broken patches of ice, homes and businesses along the shore being broken apart by ice dams, fishermen falling into the lake’s frozen depths, never to be seen again.
There is no agency — federal, state, county or town — that monitors the thickness of the ice or posts signs when it’s too thin for safety. Why not? Because people should be sensible enough to see that for themselves. When you’re on the ice, pay attention. If it looks too thin to support you, it probably is. Slowly walk off.
In the meantime, stay off Oneida Lake.
