With temperatures dropping to 18 degrees below zero, rescuers in Alger County were sent to Clyde Lake to find three snowmobilers whose sleds had fallen through the ice into the water.
Conservation officer Mark Zitnik and U.S. Forest Service officer Dave Tembruell were the last dispatched to the scene, but the first to find the snowmobilers.
“We found them huddling around a fire, soaking wet,” Zitnik said.
With a stream feeding into the lake, the ice the riders’ sleds dropped through measured only about an inch thick. The water was 3 to 4 feet deep.
One of the snowmobilers had climbed a ridge to reach enough cellphone signal to notify county dispatchers. EMS personnel treated the men and officers got them safely back to their vehicle. The following day, the three sleds were pulled from the lake.
This incident from Jan. 26 illustrates the conditions officers were working under over eight days of intense winter weather, which ranged from wind chills approaching 40 degrees below zero to blizzard conditions that forced the closure of a section of more than one of the Upper Peninsula’s major highways.
“Our conservation officers respond to dangerous, potentially life-threatening incidents on a regular basis, providing aid and comfort to those in need of help,” said DNR Law Enforcement Division Chief Gary Hagler. “However, the courage and dedication exhibited by our officers is even more commendable during times of challenging weather conditions or natural disasters.”
Conservation officers used their 4-wheel-drive patrol trucks and snowmobiles to respond to numerous emergency situations during the polar vortex State of Emergency declared by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
What follows is a review of several of the reported incidents statewide.
Region 1 (Includes districts headquartered in Marquette, Newberry, Gaylord and Roscommon)
