Ice Rescue of Dog

On February 12, 2008, several of our valley emergency personnel assisted the rescue of a dog that had fallen through the thin ice. The thin ice hampered rescue efforts, said Big Bear Lake Fire Chief John Morley. The rescue personnel kept falling through the ice and that made it difficult to get to the dog, he said.

The Big Bear Municipal Water District launched an ice breaking patrol boat from its headquarters. But the ice was too thick to make it to the east end of the lake, said MWD Lake Manager Mike Stephenson.

The MWD made another attempt with the same patrol boat launched from the East Boat Ramp. Two firefighters were aboard wearing ice rescue suits. Firefighters Tyson Mrosek and Josh Mandolini scooped the dog into the boat.

This is a warning that all need to stay off the ice. Ice that appears to be thick from the surface, could in fact, be very thin on the underside.

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