Photo courtesy of Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Randee Murphy The Brown County Sheriff’s Office restricted all vehicle traffic on Sleepy Eye Lake as of 8:30 a.m. Wednesday after receiving a report of three fish houses that went through the ice on Sleepy Eye Lake. The sheriff’s office will monitor lake ice conditions and allow vehicle traffic when ice conditions are safe.

SLEEPY EYE — The Brown County Sheriff’s Office restricted all vehicle traffic on Sleepy Eye Lake as of 8:30 a.m. Wednesday after receiving a report of three ice fishing houses falling through the ice.

The vehicle restriction includes all vehicles: trucks, cars, ATVs and snowmobiles until further notice, according to a sheriff’s office news release.

“This is due to poor ice conditions on the lake. The Brown County Sheriff’s Office will monitor ice conditions and allow vehicle traffic once ice conditions are safe,” read the release.

Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Randee Murphy photographed the partially submerged fish houses and contacted two fish house owners.

“They were aware of it. I told them they could contact Maloney’s Towing & Recovery Inc. of Madelia about removing the fish houses from the lake,” said Murphy.

Brown County Sheriff Jason Seidl said Sleepy Eye Police checked the submerged fish houses and found nobody was inside them.

The sheriff’s office recommends following Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) ice thickness guidelines for new, clear ice:

For under four inches of ice, stay off ice. Walking, ice fishing, ice skating, or other activities on foot can be done on 4 inches of ice.

Snowmobiling or riding a small ATV is allowable on 5-7 inches of ice. Ride a side-by-side ATV on 7-8 inches of ice. Driving a car on 9-12 inches of ice. Drive a truck on 13-17 inches of ice. Drive a large truck with a wheelhouse shelter on more than 20 inches of ice.

The DNR urges anyone venturing on ice to tell someone where they are going and when they expect to return.