Four-wheeler and driver bust through ice

A Kalispell fishermen pulled his fishing partner out of Bitterroot Lake after he fell through the ice while driving a four-wheeler early Sunday morning.

And, the Marion Rural Fire Department responded to pull the vehicle out of the frigid water.

No one was injured in the incident on the south end of the lake, reported at about 6:40 a.m., Marion Fire Chief James Brower said.

A trailer carrying an ice house helped keep the four-wheeler from sinking to the bottom of the lake.

Firefighters arrived to find one of the fishermen standing on top of the trailer to keep it from sliding and keep the vehicle from sinking further in, Brower said.

"We got someone suited up and on that sled to hold it until we got a line on the four-wheeler and pulled it back out of the water and onto the ice," Brower said.

Smith Valley Fire Department personnel also assisted at the scene, providing extra manpower.

Brower said the incident occurred on a part of the lake known for having bad ice because of a natural spring that discharges warm water.

"There's a bad section of ice there every year ... It catches someone every year," he said.

While at the scene, the fire department heard reports of other fishermen falling through the ice on Saturday, but emergency responders were not called out to assist in those cases.

"Fishermen were telling us that people fell through yesterday also, but other fishermen came out and pulled them out," Brower said. "People need to pay attention and watch this ice. If it doesn't look good, don't drive on it."