OXFORD, Maine — Authorities said an Oxford man is lucky to be alive after he fell through the ice in the middle of Thompson Lake Wednesday afternoon.
"If nobody would have seen him or heard him, he would be frozen right now," Oxford Fire Chief Paul Hewey said.
Hewey said witnesses heard the man yelling for help and called 911.
"When I got on scene, I was able to find him with the assistance of Oxford [Police Department] and binoculars and heard him yelling for help," Hewey said.
The fire chief said they were able to rescue him after he was in the water for nearly an hour. Maine Game Warden Harry Wiegman said it's the second ice rescue in the state this week.
"The ice is certainly behind compared to this time last year," Wiegman said.
If the ice is 2 inches thick or less, experts say to stay off—it's not safe for anyone. 4 inches is safe to walk or skate on.
For snowmobiling, you need 5 to 6 inches of solid ice. And the ice needs to be 8 to 12 inches thick to support a car or small pickup. As for the big pick-ups that haul ice fishing shacks onto the ice, make sure there is a foot or more of cold, clear ice.
"Right now, almost every lake that I've checked has a mix of clear, black ice, and snow ice," Wiegman explains. "Snow ice happens when snow lands on ice and then kind of floods and freezes and that snow ice is a lot less strong than that clear is."
Wiegman said if you do go out, you should have a plan.
"Having people know where you are or having a group of people that can help each other out and get help is important," he said.
Both he and the Oxford Fire Chief said people need to use good judgment during these warmer temperatures in order to stay safe.