Addition: The excavator did not belong to a local contractor. We apologize for not including this information in the original story and any inconvenience local contractors may have suffered as a result.
Original story: Conservation Officer James Zucchelli doesn’t think excavators belong on the ice, certainly after when one fell through the ice on Bridge Lake off of Centennial Rd. on Jan. 16.
“By the time we got there in the afternoon, the excavator had been removed,” he said. “There was no fuel loss as a result of the excavator in the lake. It was only about 15 metres from the shore and the owner of the excavator hired heavy equipment to basically pull the excavator out of the lake.”
The owner was planning on building a skating rink on the ice, but according to the Conservation officer, had a very poor understanding of the ice’s strength and made a “gross miscalculation”.
An investigation is currently ongoing as a result of the damage to the shoreline but the results won’t be determined until later this year. The investigation is focused on any violations of the Fisheries Act and Water Act. The owner of the machine is cooperating.
“We see it every year,” said Zucchelli, recommending to not bring vehicles like cars or trucks onto the ice. “Vehicles slip through the ice and it ends up being a potential environmental threat and pollution.”
His advice to people is learning the safety standards for any vehicle someone would like to bring onto the ice, whether its a snowmobile or a quad. Testing the ice with an auger and comparing it to the ice safety ice standards for that vehicles is the recommended procedure, though he stresses never to bring an excavator.