Report At Icy Lake Not A Tragedy

At 5:15 p.m. Sunday, the Kimball Sheriff’s Office 911 dispatch received a call reporting that an individual had fallen through the ice at Oliver Lake. According to Sheriff Harry Gilway, the reporting individual may not have seen the entirety of events that led to the call.

Apparently, three teenage boys were on the ice, which was covered by snow. They were “playing around” in the snow and one fell and then, according to other accounts, he rushed to their pickup. The reporting individual then just saw two individuals and therefore called 911, believing that the one fell through the ice.

The Kimball Volunteer Fire Department responded and suited up. They took the necessary steps but couldn’t find where someone had fallen through the ice.

“So glad we didn’t have a tragedy,” Gilway said. “It was an eye-opener as to how things could go badly.”

In order to stay safe on ice, here are a few tips: Be careful of ice covered in snow, which may be hiding open water or cracked ice and the insulating effect of snow slows down the freezing process. Remember that ice does not form with uniform thickness on any body of water, and clear, blue or green ice is the best. White ice typically has air or snow trapped inside, weakening it.