Thirty-five Minnesota ice fishermen are lucky to be alive after heavy winds shifted the ice they were on, sending them adrift into Upper Red Lake (which is known for its ice fishing) and prompting a rescue operation from Beltrami County Sheriffs and other emergency officials.
A report went out around 5 p.m.: Some 35 people were stranded on an ice chunk floating about 40-50 feet in the water. One of the anglers, Dale Mord, told Fox9 that the group didn't panic when the weather shifted—they just continued to ice fish.
"There's not a whole lot you can do, you just say, 'Oh well, looks like we've got to find some help or wait,'" Mord said. "We were prepared to stay out there all night if we had to. It was about 20 feet of open water, and obviously, it just got worse and worse." However, winds were not on the fishermen's or rescuer's sides, creating difficult conditions.
"During the rescue, strong winds further blew the ice chunk, and the separation grew to a couple hundred feet," authorities said in a press release.
With so much distance between the shore and the ice float, rescuers had to shift gears, employing an airboat to reach the stranded anglers. After about 4 hours, emergency responders were able to rescue all 35 anglers.
"Everything went right this time, but things could go a lot worse," DNR ice safety coordinator Nicole Biagi told Fox9. "Luckily, nobody ended up in the water because that could result in hypothermia and drowning."
Biagi said ice breakups aren't uncommon on the lake due to its open center, especially early in the ice fishing season, citing similar rescues last year and in 2019. The sheriff's department attributed the incident to unseasonably warm weather and recent rain, which created unstable ice conditions. Residents need to remember to have "at least four inches of clear, new ice" before walking out onto the lake. The department urges people to reach out if they find themselves in need of assistance.
"Ice can never be considered 100 percent safe," Chief Deputy Jarrett Walton said in a news release. "If you become stranded on the ice, call for help. We would rather have trained responders assist than someone falling in the water."
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