Wardens say ice conditions still not safe

AUGUSTA – The calendar may indicate it’s January but record high temperatures last month mean the ice on many lakes and ponds is still too thin for winter activities in Maine.

The record warmth in December left some areas of ponds and lakes with open water, and there’s thin ice as far north as Aroostook County, said Mark Latti of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

“A lot of lakes in Aroostook County, like Eagle Lake and Chamberlain Lake, are still open, which is pretty amazing,” he said.

The problem: There has been no extended deep freeze to give lakes and ponds an opportunity to turn to thick ice.

There was record warmth in December in Portland in the south and Caribou in the north, according to the National Weather Service.

The average temperature for the month in Portland was 34.8 degrees, or more than 8 degrees warmer than usual. In Caribou, the average daily temperature was 26.5 degrees, which is 11.7 degrees above average.

In Portland, the temperature topped freezing on every single day in December, something that has never happened before.

On New Year’s Day, an 11-year-old boy fell into the ice-covered Sugar River and was rescued by firefighters in Claremont, N.H. So far, there are no reports of people falling through the ice in Maine.

Latti recommended at least four inches of ice to support a single individual walking cross a frozen water body. And the only way to determine the depth is to cut a hole in the ice, he said.