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Emergency crews rescue 2 men stranded on ice at Williams Fork Reservoir; sheriff warns to stay off lake

Two anglers hoping to catch a few fish ended up catching frostbite when they got stuck in the middle of Williams Fork Reservoir on Friday morning.

The Grand County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call at 9 a.m. from two men who found themselves trapped out on Williams Fork Reservoir because of slushy ice that made it difficult to walk back to shore.

Lt. Dan Mayer, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, estimated that the men, both from Eagle County, had been on the ice for a few hours prior to calling for help. He said the men suffered from frostbite and exhaustion because of the cold temperatures and wet conditions.

One man was able to walk carefully back to shore, but the sheriff’s office, with assistance from Hot Sulphur Springs-Parshall Fire Protection District and Grand County EMS, had to rescue the second man using a snowmobile. An initial attempt to rescue the man failed when a snowmobile was unable to make it out to the location, but a second attempt, a snowmobile coming from the opposite side of the lake, successfully transported the man to crews waiting at the south shore boat ramp.

Mayer urged people not to go out onto Williams Fork Reservoir Friday as the conditions are deceptive.

Despite the “bomb cyclone” experienced Wednesday, the ice at the reservoir is no longer stable due to direct sunlight and warmer temperatures that occurred earlier this week.

Mayer said the sheriff’s office would be contacting Denver Water to see if they could close the reservoir until conditions are safer.


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