For Release: December 9, 1998

Contact: John Faltus 222-2632

PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management's 24-hour Ice Information telephone line for ice conditions at four state parks begins operation Friday, December 18. The number is 222-2632.

DEM's Division of Parks and Recreation will provide information about Lincoln Woods State Park in Lincoln, World War II Memorial State Park in Woonsocket, Meshanticut State Park in Cranston, and Goddard Memorial State Park in Warwick. Ice must have a uniform thickness of six inches before it is considered by DEM safe for skating. It takes at least five to seven days of temperatures in the low 20s before ice may become safe, and even then the strength of the ice is determined by a number of factors such as the size and depth of a pond, presence of springs or currents, and local temperature fluctuations.

The Division will also set up a man-made ice skating area in one of the parking lots at Lincoln Woods State Park when the weather turns cold enough to form ice. For information on conditions at the man-made ice skating area, call Lincoln Woods State Park directly at 723-7892 weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

John Faltus, of DEM's Division of Parks and Recreation, emphasizes that DEM does not monitor ice conditions in local communities, and that residents should contact their local recreational departments for skating opportunities and conditions in individual communities.

DEM has an ice safety guide that is available by calling the Division of Parks and Recreation at 222-2632. Developed by its Ice Safety Committee, the guide has safety tips, information on ice strength, and information on what to do if you or someone else has fallen through the ice. The first safety tip: never assume the ice is safe. Among the others: never skate alone or on an untested lake or pond; never use the ice for a shortcut; and never go out onto the ice after an animal or toy.