Emergency Crews Advise People To Stay Off The Ice

The bitter cold temperatures two weeks ago resulted in many waterways freezing over, but the recent warmer weather is causing the ice to melt faster than most people think.

Two dogs drowned in the North Platte River near Morad Park in Casper on Sunday, February 16th, when the ice gave way, and they were swept under the ice pack .

Lieutenant Stew Anderson with Natrona County Emergency Management, says not everyone takes into consideration that the ice is being melted underneath, by heat coming from the Earth.

He says as a result, the current is strong.

"That water underneath the ice, it's not freezing either. Obviously, because then it would be totally frozen, and that river will never do that, just because of the flow on it. So, you've got the warming coming and then you start creating pockets of air inside the ice."

Lieutenant Anderson says it can be very difficult to judge how thick the ice is, which is why emergency crews advise against anyone going out on a frozen body of water.