Car breaks through ice

WASILLA — The latest reminder that there is, in fact, water underneath the ice at Wasilla Lake has one resident asking for something as simple as a sign.

The ice in the channel connecting upper and lower Wasilla Lake can be treacherous. The water is constantly moving, and the lake is only a few feet deep. Locals learn — often the hard way — to avoid the narrows no matter what the time of year.

Doug Millard moved to the upper portion of the Wasilla Lake in 1976. That same spring, he took a stroll on the ice, only to break through to his armpits when crossing the channel.

About five or 10 years ago, Milliard was watching a pickup spin doughnuts on the slushy lake near the channel. All of the sudden, the pickup disappeared, having broken through the ice. Millard said he started to dial 911 and was preparing to run out there when he saw the driver emerge from the water and start running toward the Mat-Su Resort.

This past weekend, despite a spate of warm weather, a car tried to make the crossing, Millard said. Sure enough, the car broke through and submerged about halfway into the lake. No one appeared to be hurt, he said, and another car came a few hours later to pull the first one out.

Millard said it is in his nature to let people know if he sees a hazard. The ice near the channel is clearly a hazard, yet there is no warning for those who don’t know.

“I hate to see that, sitting there knowing it’s a problem,” Millard said. “It’s a public safety hazard. You would think some safety department would want to highlight that.”

Cliff Silvers, the chief of the Mat-Su Borough Water Rescue Team, is well aware of the risk. In fact, he said, his unit was formed in response to the 1981 drowning death of a family driving on Wasilla Lake.

Silvers said he has personally brought up the idea of signage to the local governing bodies, only to be shot down. The reason he said he is always given is liability.

“Once you post something like that — if you pull the signs later or even if you keep them out — if someone falls through, it’s still your responsibility,” Silvers said.

Flowing water reduces the strength of ice by 15 percent, Silvers said. This, added with the shallowness of the section, means there really is no safe time to drive across the narrow section of Wasilla Lake.

Silvers said his group can make as many as three rescues on Wasilla Lake in one winter. But the rescues are too infrequent to stage gear near the channel.

“All we can do then is cut the ice out, put ramps underneath the wheels and get a tow truck,” Silvers said. “Then the car has to go to the shop for a bit to dry out.”

Silvers said there are similar weak spots around the edge of Big Lake, many of which do have warning signs. The difference, he said, is the signs were put up by local concerned residents who have formed something like a neighborhood “ice-watch.”

Regardless of signs or no signs, Silvers said drivers should always use caution when driving over ice. A few days of warm weather should not compromise the thickness of the ice too much, but objects in the ice — like leaves, dock pilings or fallen branches — can radiate heat to the surrounding ice.

If someone is new to the area, Silvers recommended checking in with a local snowmachine shop about where not to go. When driving in a car or truck, Silvers said to remove seat belts, roll down windows and even hold doors open across the ice.

“For safety’s sake, I do all this when I drive across ice,” Silvers said, “and I know Fisher’s Fuel Truck just went in front of me.”

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.