If you go ice skating this week, remember the deer.
On Saturday, Alaska Wildlife Trooper Sgt. Aaron Frenzel and several good Samaritans pulled an injured deer from broken ice on the surface of Twin Lakes.
The animal, limp, was placed in the bed of a pickup truck and driven away. It may have been hit by a car before running onto the ice.
With its injuries too great to heal, the deer was euthanized, said Stephanie Sell, area biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Carol Collins, walking her dog and watching from the shoreline, described the experience.
“That was definitely a tragedy for that poor deer, and you definitely don’t want that to happen to a small child,” she said by phone.
This week’s cold weather — Monday morning’s mark of 13 degrees is the lowest yet this season — has drawn skaters to area lakes. As the deer reveals, those lakes aren’t uniformly safe. There is no official effort to measure ice depth in Juneau, and 4 inches is generally considered the safe minimum for skaters.
At Mendenhall Lake, part of the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, manager John Neary said he saw “many people on the ice” as he skated from Skater’s Cabin to the Visitor Center.
“The area near the tip of the peninsula in the ‘center’ of the lake had unsafe ice nearby. There also is open water near several inlets and the outlet, obviously unsafe. Accessing the glacier face is not a good choice,” he wrote by email.
The west side of the lake, near the cabin, appears safe.
Open water was visible Monday at Twin Lakes, particularly near inflowing creeks. Auke Lake was generally open water.
Extended periods of below-freezing temperatures are needed for stable ice on Juneau lakes, which prompts a question: How long will the current cold snap last?
“Unfortunately, it’s not for too much longer,” said Kimberly Vaughan, leader of the National Weather Service observation program in Juneau. “Wednesday should be our first day of above-freezing (temperatures) for all of Juneau.”
Tuesday was expected to bring above-freezing conditions for most of the capital city except for the Mendenhall Valley.
The Weather Service forecast called for 1-2 inches of snow overnight Monday into Tuesday, with precipitation turning to rain as the day progresses. That pattern is expected to continue Tuesday night and Wednesday night, with snow showers possible before turning into rain showers.
According to figures compiled by Anchorage climatologist Brian Brettschneider, Juneau has only a 10-20 percent chance of snow on Thanksgiving. This year, the capital city’s chances are better, Vaughan said, particularly on Thursday morning.
That day, forecasts call for highs around 36 degrees, above freezing even in the valley.
If skaters decide to chance the ice over the long Thanksgiving weekend, they might have the opportunity to meet Capital City Fire/Rescue Chief Richard Etheridge.
“We just put the ice rescue suits on the equipment yesterday,” he said by phone. “We’re ready to go and pluck them out if they fall in.”
Randy Host passes a hockey puck to his wife, Heather Brandon, as they take advantage of the ice in front of Skater’s Cabin at Mendenhall Lake on Monday.
