LAC LA BICHE - The warmer-than-expected winter weather over the last few weeks put a freeze on ice-making plans at outdoor municipal skating rinks across much of the Lakeland — but the new year is bringing colder temperatures and new hope for outdoor skating opportunities.
With cooler temperatures since the new year, Lac La Biche County ice-making crews are hoping to have outdoor rinks in Lac La Biche open in the coming days, says Jihad Moghrabi, the marketing, communications, and engagement manager for Lac La Biche County.
He tells the Lac La Biche POST newsroom that the unseasonably warm temperatures set the rink plans back by a few weeks.
“Depending on the weather, we try to have outdoor rinks ready by the holiday season, (but) that couldn't happen this year though, due to the unseasonably warm temperatures.”
The County operates outdoor rinks in the Dumasfield park, Lakeview Estates, Holowachuk Estates, Owl River, Rich Lake, Hylo and Craigend.
Lakeland late start
Other municipalities across the Lakeland Region have also experienced delays with opening outdoor rinks.
Todd Worthington, parks manager for the City of Cold Lake, said there are two outdoor rinks in the community that have been open since the second week of December. He said typically, the municipality would have opened these rinks a couple of weeks sooner, but unseasonably warm temperatures hampered efforts to do so.
“It was a challenge this year with the warmer temperatures…we were doing the majority of our floods in the evening when temperatures were a bit cooler,” he told Lakeland This Week.
Barry Kalinski with the Municipal District (MD) of Bonnyville said local outdoor rinks are usually open around the first week of December, but this year, due to the warm weather conditions, the openings were delayed until the last week of the year.
Kaliski says the status of rinks is listed on the MD of Bonnyville website, which enables the public to know the conditions of the rinks.
Waiting for ice
As crews prepare the rinks for flooding in communities across the region, Moghrabi cautions residents around the Lac La Biche area to be patient.
Signs at the gates of outdoor rinks across the municipality warn residents of the unsafe skating surfaces, and Moghrabi said this sign will remain up until the ice surfaces are fully prepared.
“Until we get enough ice on the surface, there's a chance of skaters breaking through to concrete, which is unsafe. Once the ice is established, the signs will come down,” he stated, adding that for now, County officials are recommending that the public stay off the surface.
