Preparing for Saturday's annual Special Olympics Alaska Polar Plunge, Anchorage firefighters on Friday cut a 16-foot-by-16-foot hole in the ice at Goose Lake.

One by one, blocks of foot-thick ice were cut from the lake with chain saws and pushed under the surrounding ice with long wooden poles.

A group of three Alaska State Troopers and a deputy state fire marshal were on hand to test the waters Friday afternoon.

On Saturday, over 1,100 people are expected to jump into the lake, taking part in Special Olympics Alaska's largest fundraiser of the year. The organization, which provides year-round sports training and athletic competition to individuals with intellectual disabilities, typically raises over $300,000 from the event.