DENVER — Video shows teens riding electric scooters across thin ice on a Denver pond.
FOX31 crews recorded two people riding electric scooters across the frozen surface Thursday at Barnum Park.
“I’ve never seen anything like that before, scooters on the ice,” said Cpt. Travis Hopwood with West Metro Fire Rescue.
The video is concerning to firefighters at West Metro because most ponds and lakes in the metro area are just starting to freeze over.
“The big risk is you have no idea what the stability of the ice is,” said Hopwood.
Hopwood says West Metro typically responds to three to five ice rescues every winter, often during weeks like this in early winter when the ice is just starting to form.
“I would discourage anyone from getting out onto a lake,” said Hopwood.
On Wednesday, firefighters in Boulder sprang into action to save a woman who fell into an icy lake trying to rescue her dog.
The two boys on scooters in Denver did not fall in, but Hopwood hopes the video of them on the ice will serve as a reminder to all to stay off ponds and lakes.
“Unless you dove in or watched it being built, you shouldn’t assume it’s six feet or 50 feet. This can go from ‘They’re having a great time’ to ‘They’re submerged in the water.’ They have no idea how deep that is,” Hopwood said.