People, pets urged to keep off lake ice

BIG LAKE — The last entry point to the Big Lake Ice Road was closed Wednesday, and borough officials are encouraging drivers to keep off of local lakes.

The advisory comes after at least two instances of dogs falling through the ice — the most recent on Reflections Lake — tempted local residents to try to rescue furry friends.

“I would say don’t make any attempt to rescue them,” said Animal Control Officer Matt Hardwig. “If the dog fell through the ice, there’s a good probability you’ll fall through the ice, too.”

The best tool to keep dogs from meeting a potentially deadly fate is a leash, Hardwig added. That’s consistent with the Mat-Su Borough’s leash law, which requires all animals to be “continuously under restraint.”

Instances of dogs falling through lake ice are typically rare, Hardwig added.

Also at risk as trees begin to bloom and bikers begin to ride local roads: ice-fishing houses. The Mat-Su Borough maintains lake-use plans for eight local lakes: Big Lake, Lake Five, Little Question Lake, Question Lake, Diamond Lake, Little Lonely Lake, and two unnamed lakes between Question Lake and the Talkeetna Spur Road, according to ordinances.

As local temperatures rise, so do concerns about the risk of these structures falling through the ice.

“Typically, we get a few calls a year where people are concerned about ice houses falling in,” said borough ordinance enforcement officer Alex Strawn.

Registration information for ice houses on those eight lakes is required to be displayed on the outside of the structure, Strawn added.

The calls often come too late, Strawn said.

“In years past we have heard complaints about ice houses that are doomed to fall in,” he said. “At that point, it’s too soft for us to go out there.”

Ultimately, the most stringent enforcer of borough code, which stipulates that owners remove their houses “before the ice loses its ability to support equipment to move the ice house out of the water,” may ultimately be Mother Nature.