The day began to take a dramatic turn when a crack that formed in the ice grew to around 60 feet wide.
Nearly 200 people ventured onto the frozen lake to do some ice fishing on Monday. However, the day began to take a dramatic turn when a crack formed in the ice.
A frozen Upper Red Lake in Minnesota. Seen here is the gap between the frozen beach and ice chunk that broke off.
When Youngbauer assessed the situation, she noted that the only thing that came to her mind was the safety of the stranded fishermen and taking them off the ice.
“That was my top priority – not only as a first responder but also as an outfitter,” she said.
Upper Red Lake is no stranger to seeing large numbers of fishermen. According to Youngbauer, the frozen lake has hosted around 20,000 people without experiencing distress.
