Mining Journal readers in recent days have noted that at least two people — including one from the Upper Peninsula’s Garden Peninsula — have died after falling through thin ice.

These circumstances are always tragic cases of people who were fishing or otherwise recreating on a body of water before an unstable ice sheet gave way.

Experts have long said that, generally speaking, there is no such thing as a 100 percent safe ice surface. It just does not exist. There will always be a chance, albeit a small one, that temperature, current or other influence conspire to make what appears to be safe ice unsafe.

That said, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has put out a set of general guidelines to help determine of ice is safe.

They are:

≤ You can test ice thickness and quality using a spud, needle bar or auger.

≤ Strongest ice: clear with bluish tint.

≤ Weak ice: ice formed by melted and refrozen snow. Appears milky.

≤ Stay off ice with slush on top. Slush ice is only half as strong as clear ice and indicates the ice is not freezing from the bottom.

≤ A sudden cold front with low temperatures can create cracks within a half-day.

≤ A warm spell may take several days to weaken ice, and cause the ice to thaw during the day and refreeze at night.

≤ Ice weakens with age.

≤ If there’s ice on the lake but water around the shoreline, be extra cautious.

≤ Stronger the current on the lake, the more likely the ice will give to open water.

≤ Avoid areas of ice with protruding debris like logs or brush.

Be safe, Use your head. And live.