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Ice On Area Lakes Is Not Safe Yet PDF
WCCO - St. Paul   

Ice on area lakes isn't safe yet. On Thursday someone broke through the ice on Island Lake in Linwood, Minn., and had to be rescued.  From the air you can still see where that happened. And the ice situation is the same just about everywhere.

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There's no way Joe Hays of Ham Lake, Minn., is getting out on the ice right now. He prefers taking a bike ride with his buddies around the lake instead.

"They're nuts going out this early on the ice," he said. "It's just way too thin."

But it doesn't surprise him others are tempted.

"There are lots of stupid people out there," he said. "You have to think about it. Just a couple of weeks ago it was 60 degrees out and it takes a lot of time to get the ice going."

Generally, it takes at least a week of near zero overnight temperatures to form ice stable enough to walk on. Our warm fall has been a factor this year.

From our helicopter, Sky 4, we were able to see large patches of open water in lakes around the Metro area.

"There's just no good ice probably anywhere probably in Minnesota and certainly not in the Metro area or in the southern two-thirds of the state for sure," said Tim Smalley, a water safety specialist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Once it is safe to get out on the ice, the DNR said you should never go alone and it's a good idea to bring safety gear like a life jacket and ice picks.

A DNR video shows how to pull yourself up with picks while kicking with your feet, but people like Joe Hays already have a plan for avoiding danger.

"I wait until I see a lot of other people out there," he said.

On average six people die by falling through the ice every year in Minnesota. So far, this season there have been three deaths in Wisconsin, but none in Minnesota.

The DNR suggests calling ahead to a bait shop or resort and find out what the ice has been like. Once you're there, use an ice chisel or a drill to check the thickness.
 
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