With temperatures dipping into the teens and single digits, the water at Kent Narrows in Queen Anne's County is filled with ice. This means the Department of Natural Resources must clear away the ice.
"This boat is made for this. It has steel and basically we just run into the ice," said Jason Spadaro with the Department of Natural Resources.
It's a windy day. The wind keeps water moving and it's hard for ice to form.
"This is an observation run to see how thick the ice is throughout the area. There is a little bit of fast ice out there that we just passed through. Most of this is still floating ice, but it is starting to pack up a little bit," said Captain Shawn Orr with DNR.
DNR calls this a proactive mission to tackle the problem before it gets worse. The goal here is to make sure Fire and Rescue boats can get through the waterways and keep the fishermen reeling in their catch.
"The fishermen have wooden boats. Most of them are wooden boats and ice can damage their haul. This is a steel boat. It is made for ice and we want to open up the channel," said Sparado.
This is the first de-icing mission this year. Crews look at the weather and how many times the temperature dips below freezing before they hit the water. The steel boat helps DNR keep the waterways open and safe.
