Yellowknife ice conditions 'very dangerous,' says fire chief

Yellowknife Fire ChiefDarcyHernbladis warning people to stay off the lakes as the ice is still too thin to walk or snowmobile on.

The fluffy snow coupled withwarm temperatures may be tempting to skiersand snowmobilers, but are bad news for building ice thickness.

"The conditions right now are the worst kind of conditions because we've had the heavy snowfall and that snow is sitting on a lot of ice that hasn't built up to the recommended thickness of six inches," he said.

"So it makes for some very dangerous conditions out there."

He says the snow on the ice and warm temperatures will cause overflow.As well, he says the snow is now covering up areas that were weakened by high winds during the snowstorms.

Hernblad estimates it willbe another week or two before the ice is safe to walk on.