After rescue. No handrails and bobbing in the water, the jury-rigged evacuation bridge was itself a challenge. Image: Beltrami County sheriff
The lure: The day had looked grand for ice-fishing
WASKISH Minn. – At least 100 people ice-fishing on Upper Red Lake found themselves stranded when the ice broke away. Some panicky, most of them composed, they pulled out their cell phones to tap 911 for help. It was at 11:30 a.m. that the Beltrami County sheriff’s office, 60 miles away in Bemidji, got the first call. At places the ice chunk was 10 yards from shore, in others 30 yards. Rescuers crafted wooden planks into a makeshift floating bridge. The stranded anglers made their way one at a time to shore. By 2:30 everyone had been evacuated.
Lake profile
At 119,000 acres, Upper Red Lake is yhe fifth largest lake in Minnesota. The lake has 60 miles of shoreline. Greatest depth: 15 feet. Rich with bass, perch, pike, sturgeon and walleye.