The City of Kelowna warns residents to stop skating on frozen bodies of water as temperatures continue to rise

Kelowna residents have been enjoying the natural skating rinks that have popped up all over the city as a result of the recent cold snap – but the city says you're on thin ice.

In the past week, people were spotted skating on Mission Creek and enjoying the frozen lagoon by The Dolphins.

"We're just advising the public that we don't particularly go and do inspections or maintenance on any of these pieces of water or frozen ponds and so we want to make sure the public is aware of that they're using caution," says Blair Stewart, Parks Services Manager at the City of Kelowna.

Stewart adds that no one else is maintaining these ponds or inspecting them, either.

"I don't think I remember the lagoons freezing over in the last, I'm guessing, 10-20 years," explains Stewart. "It's a potential hazard because we don't know what the ice conditions are underneath."

Unless a professional is investigating the ice conditions underneath these frozen bodies of water, they are considered unsafe to skate on.

"You never really know how deep the ice is because it can change from one piece to the next," says Stewart.

With temperatures expected to rise in the next few days, the parks services department is reminding you that you are skating at your own risk and against their recommendations.