The Canadian Red Cross doesn’t want you to break through this time of year.

Temperatures are rising in Humboldt and surrounding areas through the season of spring. With warmer weather, the ice on lakes, ponds, rivers, and sloughs could be dangerous.

Canadian Red Cross wants people to be prepared and prevent accidents while participating in activities such as ice fishing, skating, and sledding. There are signs to determine if the ice is safe to walk on or travel on. One of them is looking at the colour of the ice.

“If it’s blue, it’s solid ice all the way through, if it’s white, your looking at layers of ice and snow which are not as strong, and if you’re seeing grey it’s to thin to walk on,” said Lesley-Anne Morley, Water Safety Representative of Saskatchewan.

The ice has to be 15 cm to go walking or skating on and 25 cm to go snowmobiling. Although around this time of year, it is well beyond the point to even attempt to walk on the ice. If someone were to fall through the ice, there are methods to get you out.

If you are alone, remain calm and turn yourself towards the shore. Next, break away any of the weak ice that is around you. To get back on to the ice you’ll need to kick and use your elbows to pull your self up at the same time. Once on the ice, roll to shore and call for help as soon as possible.

When you are with someone and they fall in, call for help immediately and always try to help the person from the shore so you don’t fall in as well. Use a tree branch, hockey stick, or anything long to pull the person out. If you must go on the ice, put on a life jacket beforehand if you have one. Keep a low stance and shimmy your way to the person and have a long object to test the ice ahead of you.

“Being educated on how to tell how thick the ice is and how to help yourself if something happens is always going to be important because we want everyone to be safe.”

Just a reminder, all ice shacks in the province must be removed by March 31st.