An early weekend of ice fishing on Minnesota’s famed Upper Red Lake got here to a scary halt on Monday, Nov. 28 when a big chunk of ice broke off and stranded an estimated 200 ice fishermen and girls. The anglers have since been rescued, because of emergency responders, close by resorts, and one small ice bridge.
According to a press launch, the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Department began receiving calls at roughly 11:34 a.m. from distressed anglers who realized the ice chunk was drifting away from shore on the southeastern a part of the lake. By the time emergency responders arrived to the scene, an estimated 30 yards of water stood between the ice chunk and dry land on one aspect.
Rescue groups used drones to evaluate the state of affairs. Beltrami County Emergency Management additionally used an emergency alert system that despatched a message to each cellphone on the ice chunk, warning unknowing anglers of the state of affairs and giving latitude and longitude coordinates for the evacuation level. Nearby ice fishing resort JR’s Corner Access offered an ice bridge lengthy sufficient to span the narrowest a part of the crack and each angler evacuated the ice chunk by 2:37 p.m.
“Part of our job is monitoring and looking at cracks and watching the [ice] and making sure we have bridges ready when needed,” Adam Studniski of JR’s Corner Access informed BBC.
In the aftermath of the rescue, there’s been loads of on-line criticism.
“Send a bill to the resort that let them on the lake and to each individual person on the ice. Maybe….just maybe they will actually think in the future,” one Facebook remark reads. “They put a lot of people in danger today and cost a lot of money to rescue them.”
JR’s Corner Access will stay closed by way of the tip of Tuesday, Nov. 29. In the meantime, the rescued anglers stay grateful for his or her security. It might be an particularly memorable day for Andy LaBarge and Lydia Thole, a pair who bought engaged whereas out on the ice, in line with Northern News Now.
“Andy had tied my ring on a lure and put it on my bobber line and I came back in and he’s like ‘Oh you got a fish,’” Thole recounted. “So I reel it up and he’s on a knee, and I said ‘Oh my god!’”
The Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office reminds the general public to remain protected and alert to ice situations.
“[We remind] those who are thinking of heading on the ice that early season ice is very unpredictable,” the press launch says. “Extreme caution should be used when heading on the ice and to check the thickness frequently to ensure an adequate amount of ice.”
In addition to the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office, different responding teams included Kelliher Fire and Rescue, Red Lake Nation Fire, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota State Patrol, Blackduck Ambulance, and the Lake of the Woods Sheriff’s Office.