Milder weather and strong winds on Georgian Bay are shaping the ice into remarkable formations.

But those sculptures can be a warning about a potential problem this spring. And a local fire chief wants the coast guard to step in before it's too late for some residents nearby.

Art and Shirley Docherty's home in Meaford overlooks Georgian Bay and over the past few weeks they have been hearing and seeing something unusual take place here. Mountains of ice have been pushed up along the shoreline.

“It sounded like gun shots just cracking, and then the wind blowing it sounded like thunder and then you would hear water trickling and it's was beautiful,” says Shirley Docherty. “We got up the next morning there was this wall of turquoise ice, blocks and blocks of it.”

Typically there is some open water as pads of ice float around, but Georgian Bay is completely frozen over. The other Great Lakes are more than 90 per cent ice-covered. The Dochertys have lived here since 1979 and they have never seen the ice quite like this.

“It's never been as high as this,” says Art Docherty. “We have had a lot of ice here before but never as high as all of that, so this is a premiere year for us.” 

There is more ice on the Great Lakes now than there has been in 35 years and that’s becoming a concern in Wasaga Beach because if there isn’t any open water there won’t be a place for the ice in the Nottawasga River in the event of a rapid thaw.

Fire Chief Mike McWilliam says ice jams near the mouth of the river could cause flooding upstream. He wants the coast guard to send an icebreaker to help get the ice moving the next time the ships visits Midland.

“They will be coming down into Georgian Bay and I asked if they would come down and try and open up the mouth of the river for us the best they can,” he says. “We know it's shallow there and they can only come in so far but anything will help, so I am waiting for an answer from them on that.”

While McWilliam waits for an update from the coast guard, emergency plans have been made. He says the town is ready but hopes that a flood can be avoided.

“The best-case scenario is that the ice in the bay breaks up and a wind from the south pushes that ice out, allowing the river ice to flow,” he says.

McWilliam says firefighters will be going door to door in flood-prone areas to make sure residents are aware of the potential for flooding this year.