EASTLAKE, Ohio — There's a beauty to ice cracking on a river, each piece different from the next. From up high, the expanse of frozen slabs are separated by narrow veins of water, but that beauty can quickly lead to a beast of a flood.
Ice jams can be a real problem this time of year, and the people of Eastlake who live along the Chagrin River know this all too well. The community is preparing now for the worst.
"We'll use the boats and come right up to people's doors and shuttle them to safety," Eastlake Firefighter Jason Cahill said.
Flooding due to ice jams isn't common, but did happen in Eastlake in January of 2019, causing several homes to be evacuated.
Now, residents who are signed up get reverse 911 calls letting them know of rising water and when it's time to seek higher ground, because the worst case scenario is someone slipping into the freezing water.
"Once you go under the ice unlike an open water rescue where you might have somebody swimming for a little bit, in an ice rescue, hypothermia will really overtake your body quickly," Cahill said.
Hypothermia sets in fast, and the water is pushing you just as fast.
"We don't know where you'll end up being, so it's a very dangerous thing for you to be next to this water moving 50, 100 miles an hour," Eastlake Mayor Dennis Morley said.
The fire department is ready and trained for rescues, but prevention is preferred.
That's why fire, police and even the mayor are constantly checking on the water levels, with 9 feet meaning it's time to move.
"Once it starts raining and beginning to thaw, again, it can go from 5 and a half to nine in a matter of minutes," Morley said.
Morley keeps in contact with mayors upstream in case they notice any changes.
This gives neighbors and firefighters more time to prepare and respond.
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