Those traveling the ice road need to continue to take caution. According to an update by Bethel Search and Rescue's Mark Leary on Monday, “the ice road has been closed at Coffee’s Bend, 10 miles below Lower Kalskag.”
Leary added that the Coffee's Bend area has been dangerous all winter long.
“We’re very fortunate that we could even make a road there and hundreds, maybe thousands of people traveled safely past that area,” said Leary, “but now, as a precaution, we closed it before it gets bad, cause it’s gonna get bad fast in there.”
Ice road conditions are expected to continue to deteriorate throughout the week, he says, and not only should travelers take extreme caution, but those that continue to travel in the Coffee’s Bend area now do so at their own risk. Usually the ice road becomes no fun to travel long before it gets downright dangerous, said Leary
“It gets full of water, it gets full of potholes, and people just stop using it long before it gets too thin to support the weight of a vehicle,” Leary said.
Leary plans to get back out on the river this morning, and with the warmer weather conditions he expects to see a softer ice road.