Someone with a chainsaw and an unquenchable thirst for ice fishing has ruined any chance local residents had of skating at Lacombe Lake Park during the Christmas holidays.
The city revealed on Tuesday that an unknown person or persons had cut several holes into the ice that was forming on Lacombe Lake. Crews found the holes on Monday when they started clearing snow to prepare the lake for skating during the holiday season. The plan was to open the lake this week.
The five holes, scattered across the surface of the lake, appear to have been cut with a chainsaw instead of an auger, said Dan Rites, public works director. They are also larger than typical ice fishing holes.
“We don’t know for sure if they were ice fishing or not,” Rites said.
“They’re not your typical auger holes. We suspect someone brought a chainsaw to open those holes.”
Water subsequently bubbled up through those five holes, covering the ice across the entire surface of the lake with six inches of water that has created a slushy surface. Because the water that has come up is warmer than the ice, the ice on top has softened, making it unsafe. And Rites doesn’t think it will have hardened to the necessary depth of 12 inches for people to skate there during Christmas.
“It’s very weather dependent at this time. We’re going to keep inspecting the lake to see if we can perform any kind of activity but it’s very unlikely we’ll have it for the holidays.”
The holes themselves also pose a safety hazard, Rites said.
There are signs posted around the lake specifically stating ice fishing is prohibited. Rites said he doesn’t even know if there are fish in the lake that would survive freeze-up.
“I don’t think there’s any malicious intent. We are in this situation because someone chose not to pay attention to the signs and that’s unfortunate.”
The public is asked to stay off the ice. The city did open all of the city’s outdoor rinks last week.
It has been a rough year for Lacombe Lake. A small fire set earlier this year led to an inspection of the bank around the lake, which revealed it was unstable. A majority of the shore around the lake has since been fenced off and will likely remain so until 2014. The city will stabilize the banks to prevent any further erosion next year, but won’t be able to repair the problem for another year after that.
