More than 100 anglers were rescued Friday evening after they became stranded on an ice floe that detached from the main shoreline of Upper Red Lake.

It was at least the fourth rescue on Upper Red Lake in recent weeks as unseasonably warm temperatures have caused poor ice conditions across Minnesota.

According to Beltrami County Sheriff Jason Riggs, shortly before 5 p.m. Friday dispatchers received a call that some 100 people were stranded on an ice chunk on Upper Red Lake with more than 30 feet of open water separating them from shore.

Initial reports indicated that no one had fallen through the ice, and emergency responders were dispatched to the southeast corner of the lake for an ice rescue.

When first responders arrived on scene, they immediately began identifying a location that would be best suited to safely evacuate those stranded on the ice. Emergency responders staged at a resort.

Because some anglers may not have been aware they were on the ice floe, Beltrami County Emergency Management sent out an Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Wireless Emergency Alert with instructions on where to evacuate.

Before emergency responders arrived, bystanders tried to help evacuate some of the anglers in a canoe. Four people fell into the open water during the attempt, and they were brought back to the ice floe to warm up in a fishing shelter.

Emergency responders were able to evacuate the first four fishermen from the ice floe at 6:40 p.m. At 7:37 p.m., it was determined that all the stranded anglers needing to be evacuated had been brought to the main shoreline.

A total of 122 people were evacuated from the ice floe by boat and airboat. No injuries have been reported.

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