Hennepin County Sheriff issues warning about dangerous ice conditions

LAKE MINNETONKA, Minn. -- With just a couple of weeks left in ice fishing season, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office says it could be over even sooner.

This week, the sheriff's office released an advisory warning of dangerous conditions on Lake Minnetonka and potentially other lakes across the metro.

"The unseasonable weather that we had the last week coupled with the amount of rain that we received the other day has kind of done some damage to the ice on the lakes around the county," said Deputy Matthew Petrone. "What we're seeing is that all of the snow has just kind of melted off the lake and it's starting to refreeze."

Ice fisher Ellie Hooks has seen some of that damage firsthand.

"It was really messy out there a couple days ago when it melted but it definitely hardened up after it settled for two days and now, there's not any layers between of wetness. It seems to have all solidified on top now."

But Petrone warns that looks can be deceiving.

"Out on lake Minnetonka, we're seeing ice depths that are between 16 and 20 inches but that doesn't mean it's 16 inches of really good ice. The top five to six layers is going to be this milky, white, kind-of crumbly ice that's not very strong," he said. "We want people to be careful and we're advising people that they should be moving their ice houses off of the lakes sooner than March 6, which is the deadline."

That advisory comes after the sheriff's office released video of their crews working to retrieve vehicles that fell through those first few inches of milky ice on Lake Minnetonka.

While their advisory called out Lake Minnetonka specifically, Petrone says it could be said for lakes across the metro and, perhaps even, the state of Minnesota.

"Every lake in the state of Minnesota, ice forms differently due to weather patterns, due to the cooling, the warming, the rain, all of that stuff. So you could have a spot on a lake that's got twenty inches of ice but three feet away, it's going to have four to six inches of ice. You just don't know," Petrone said. "It's all just a waiting game of when it's going to happen and we're trying to get the word out so it doesn't happen and that people are safe if they venture out on the ice."

Despite the warning, this is Minnesota after all and Petrone acknowledged some will still take their chance on the ice despite the warnings.

"We know that we're not going to be able to stop everybody from going out because this is a winter sport state," he said. "If people are going to do it, whether we tell them to or not, we want that safety and we want the ability for them to be able to call for help if something bad happens. That means driving slowly, having your windows down in case you do end up going through you have a way to escape the vehicle, and that you have safety equipment with you that includes flotation devices, blankets, ice picks that you can use to climb out of the ice in case you get stuck."

For more information about ice fishing shelters and removal dates, you can visit the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.