In Medina County, Litchfield Township Fire and Rescue responded to two situations in one day on Jan. 30, including a fatal incident in Valley City.
Ice fisherman have only started to go out in the past week, said Ron Cable, owner of Ron s West Branch Bait and Tackle in Portage County. You get the brave ones, if you want to call them brave, but the average guys don t go out when it s like this, he said, adding ice in most area lakes has only been a few inches thick.
According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, at least 4 inches of new, clear ice is necessary for travel on foot, 5 inches for snowmobiles and ATVs and from 8 to 12 inches for vehicles.