'It’s not stable': Experts issue warning after people observed walking on Lake Erie ice

As the temperatures warm, experts are advising the public to stay off the ice formations on Lake Erie.

CTV News London observed multiple people walking on the ice in Port Stanley to take photographs on Monday, with some small children and pets also seen near the edge of the ice formations.

“In Port Stanley...one of the biggest things is there's natural salts, there's rocks and nothing can ever form 100 per cent a solid piece of ice,” explained Briar McCaw of the Elgin County Drowning Prevention Coalition (ECDPC). “It’s especially important because we've got the wind and the water flowing and that's creating hollow barriers under that ice what you may think is completely stable, but it really isn't.”

From the gates on the pier looking west, one photographer was observed near the edge of the ice formation, with no idea what was below him.

The water flows from the lake toward the formations, and unbeknownst to many visitors, is actually very dangerous.

“It's really hard because a lot of people who are coming down to see it aren't actually from the area,” said McCaw, who is also a Central Elgin lifeguard in Port Stanley, Ont.

“You talk to anybody in Port who lives there, they know not to go out on the ice. We get a lot of visitors coming through who genuinely don't know those rules and suggestions that we put out of saying don't go out on the ice and they don't understand why,” McCaw added.

CTV News London observed multiple people walking on the ice in Port Stanley, Ont. to take photographs on Jan. 2, 2022. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

McCaw said the ECDPC is trying to increase signage and awareness about why people shouldn’t go out on the ice, citing legitimate reasons.

“In the case of Lake Erie, it's cold so we do get those frozen bits and you saw how the pier was frozen over because of the waves, not because the water being frozen,” McCaw explained.

According to McCaw, people walk out onto the ice without knowing that the ice is not completed frozen underneath, as water currents, the wind and waves prevent the water from freezing solid.

“So I think like people just don't realize...that what they're standing on — that big mountain that's so cool — but that's probably pretty hollow underneath you and you're risking a lot by going up there,” McCaw said.

According to officials, underwater currents, wind and waves prevent the water from fully freezing along the shore of Port Stanley, Ont., which poses a hazard to people standing above on the ice. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

Central Elgin Fire echoes that sentiment. They recently had a call which ended up being a false alarm, but it put first responders at risk.

“There's been a lot of social media about the ice sculptures and everything being formed down at the beach, and we've been down there monitoring it and we see people out walking along the frozen lake edge and we do ask people not to walk out there on the ice,” said Ray Ormerod, Central Elgin fire chief.

He added, “It's very easy for it to thin out and people to slip through and ties up all of our resources even when we go look for somebody who may not be in trouble. So please stay off of the ice.”