Suamico fire and rescue crews are dealing with an unusual amount of ice rescues
A snowmobile incident on the Bay of Green Bay on Christmas morning is raising concerns about dangerous ice conditions in the area.
Two riders on the snowmobile fell through the ice but safely self-rescued. But, their vehicle remains submerged in approximately 12 feet of water.
“Fortunately we were approached by people on the snowmobile who were coming out there to retrieve it. We advised them that from drone footage we could tell that the area was all broken up,” Fire Chief Joe Bertler told WFRV.
Tom Drzewiecki, of Bayside Ice and Marine Recovery, emphasized how unpredictable early ice can be.
“They fell through extremely thin ice. They were coming from the south two days before it was open water so basically, they were on an inch to an inch and a half of ice,” he explained.
Drzewiecki also warned against relying on social media for ice condition updates, advising that local research is crucial.
“You can’t rely on social media. You might say ‘How’s the ice on this lake or body of water?’ They could say ‘A foot, anyone can say a foot.’ 20 feet away from a foot of ice could be open water.”
It’s not the first ice-related incident in the area this month either. Just two weeks ago, an 87-year-old man from De Pere tragically passed away after falling through the ice while fishing alone on the Bay of Green Bay.
