Ice at lake level is seldom strong enough to hold a person. Photo/SLTFD

A good Samaritan had to be taken to Barton Memorial Hospital on Monday for mild hypothermia after rescuing a dog in the Tahoe Keys.

“A pregnant lady was walking her dog. The dog got loose or ended up on the ice and fell through the ice,” South Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Jeff Meston told Lake Tahoe News. “A passer-by came by and jumped in to rescue dog, which she did.”

Ice has formed along part of the Upper Truckee River, in the canal by Cove East and on the edge of Lake Tahoe in various places.

“When it’s cold and the Keys freeze you should never go out on it. It’s not thick enough to walk or skate on,” Meston warned.

Clearly, not everyone is heeding that warning. On the same day, Dec. 18, a man was seen ice skating on the canal by 15th Street. And a family regularly places hockey on a canal behind Tahoe Valley Elementary School.

Meston said a recent training video put out by Reno Fire Department said 3- to 4-inch thick ice is only solid enough to hold 200 pounds.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report