Allagash Wilderness Waterway rangers report hazardous ice conditions

    AUGUSTA — Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Allagash Wilderness Waterway (AWW) Rangers are reporting hazardous ice conditions on the Allagash headwater lakes. State officials are advising ice fishermen and snowmobilers to use extreme caution when heading out to fish this week.
    AWW Superintendent Matthew LaRoche warned that there is only an inch of good black ice with about 5 inches of soft snow ice on top of that. The rain that fell over the Christmas holiday has caused the lakes to rise and the ice to break away from shore in many places. There is two or three feet of open water along the edges of the lakes in most places. When rangers and wardens were out checking the ice on Monday they found the same conditions on all the lakes that were checked. There is also open water in all thoroughfares that connect the lakes.
    LaRoche warned all visitors to stay away from thoroughfares and avoid tributary streams when traveling on the ice.

    “An inch of good ice isn’t very much, and that thickness may vary from location to location,” LaRoche said. “The ice is just not safe enough to cross any of the waterway headwater lakes yet.”
    He urged those heading out on the ice to stay near shore, play it safe and check the ice in the area in which they are traveling before venturing out onto the ice.
    For specific advice on ice conditions and areas to avoid, visitors should check with the ranger at Chamberlain Bridge or call the dispatch center in Ashland between 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 207-435-7963, extension 1.