First responders worked to rescue dozens of stranded ice fishermen from three different spots near Sturgeon Bay.
A total of 66 people were retrieved after the ice floes detached Thursday morning, according to Lt. j.g. Phillip Gurtler of the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard received a call about the stranded fishermen at about 9 a.m. and arrived on the scene between 9:30 and 10 a.m., Gurtler said. By about 1:20 p.m., rescuers were confident everyone had been cleared from the ice, he said.
First responders were glad to be able to rescue everyone before an anticipated winter storm rolls into the area, he said.
"But as we say in the Coast Guard, there isn't safe, there's just safer ice," Gurtler said. "Whenever anybody goes out, they need to make sure to check the weather beforehand, and they really need to check the ice before they go on out there, verify its thickness, and not just its thickness but make sure it's actually good, solid, clear ice."