Fishermen fall through ice on Gardom and Echo lakes

Photo: Google Maps

Search and Rescue volunteers were called out Sunday after a man fell through the ice at Gardom Lake.

The ice fisherman apparently fell through thin ice Saturday evening on the lake located between Salmon Arm and Enderby.

John Schut with Shuswap Search and Rescue says a member of the public spotted the man's abandoned gear on the ice Sunday morning, beside a hole in the ice.

"We responded with haste," says Schut. "And later confirmed via the public that the man had got out of the water on his own, as witnesses had seen him."

Schut said ice conditions on the lake are dangerous, in some areas less than one inch thick, "and in places, there is water and slush on top of it."

He urges the public to stay off the lake until colder weather returns and the ice thickens.

"It's hard to tell where the ice is thick or where it's thin," he said.

Meanwhile, a fisherman also reportedly fell through the ice on Echo Lake near Lumby last weekend.

Lumby RCMP say they hadn't received any reports of the incident, but social media posts imply the man got out of the water safely.

Conditions are forecast to remain above freezing or right around zero through the weekend.