People born and raised at Delta Beach say the ice comes in like clockwork every year. Though loud and sometimes crashing like an earthquake, the ice forming a ridge along the shoreline is typically harmless.
This past weekend, however, extreme winds pushed the ice onto the shores much faster than in previous years, leading to significant damage to docks and decks. Kelly Tomalin of the Delta Beach Association, who has lived at Delta for most of his life, says this year's ice surge is unlike anything they’ve experienced.
“There are mountains of ice out there,” Tomalin says. “It's the worst it's ever been. We've had a little ice before, but not like now.”
Tomalin has not experienced personal property damage but says many neighbors haven’t been as fortunate.
“I am not right on the lake, so I haven't had any damage, but I know people who have a lot of damage. That was an extreme amount of wind that did that.”
Paulette Connery, a resident who has lived permanently at Delta beach for the past 13 years, says there are piles of ice reaching the height of cabin windows, with some structures destroyed in the wake of the sudden buildup.
“I've never seen it like this,” Connery says. “There's a lot of damage out there, decks are gone. It was piled right up to a neighbor's window.”
Longtime resident Rick Henderson says he was shocked by what he saw Monday morning after hearing the familiar sounds of ice shifting overnight.
“It came in on Sunday night. When I looked out in the morning, the ice was piled up right up on top of my bar and then down the lakeshore to the west,” says Henderson.
Henderson says while the wind wasn’t the strongest the area has seen, the conditions on the lake created an ideal setup for destruction.
“We've had stronger winds than that,” continues Henderson. “It was just a perfect scenario where the ice broke further out, and the water got underneath the ice and floated it in."
Though the sun shines on another beautiful spring day in Portage, the scene at Delta Beach is a stark contrast, where residents are left to pick up the icy pieces and assess the damage left behind by nature’s force.