Ice covers the sidewalks and streets in Saranac Lake after rain froze to the ground. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

From roads to bushes to jackets, northern New York was covered in a slick layer of ice Wednesday evening after temperatures fell from above freezing into the lower 20s.

Numerous people reported being scared while driving and having their vehicles slide sideways, off the road or into intersections between 5 and 5:30 p.m.

The number of crashes or collisions due to the ice could not be determined as of 6:30 p.m. The Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department said it was dealing with several but could not immediately account for them. The Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department said it hadn’t responded to any as of 5:45 p.m. State and Tri-Lakes village police seemed busy and could not immediately say if there had been any accidents.

Several collisions and crashes were reported in Clinton County, according to the Press-Republican newspaper. At 5:10 p.m., the Saranac and Cadyville volunteer fire departments were called out to a wreck with entrapment near 2776 Route 3. Route 3 was shut down at Cringle Road at 5:15 p.m.

A drive on state Route 3 from Saranac Lake to Morrisonville, starting at 4:30 p.m., took an hour-and-a-half instead of the usual hour. By 6:30 p.m., road conditions had improved as temperatures dropped and precipitation changed from freezing rain to snow and sleet. People were driving slowly with hazard lights on.

The roads can be dangerous, but walking around can be just as hazardous. With no friction on most parking lots, sidewalks and driveways, slips and slides are inevitable when walking around.

Traction cleats that strap onto boots can help minimize the danger of walking on a sheet of ice. They will not reduce all slips — they are no match for the large ice buildups around streetlights and crosswalks that send feet sliding downward — but they can avoid bashed elbows, slips into roads and bruised egos.

The Winona Avenue hill, leading up to North Country Community College’s Saranac Lake campus, was too slippery for vehicles to drive up. As some people carefully walked up the hill, others slid down it, such as Samuel Coffman who works at NCCC. Meanwhile, three cars were stopped at top of the hill as one car was stuck across the road, until a village Ssand truck came to the rescue.

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Staff Writer Griffin Kelly and Publisher Catherine Moore contributed to this report.