KALISPELL — Firefighters with the Smith Valley Fire Department in west Kalispell were quick to the rescue this weekend saving a German Shepard who had fallen through the ice at Smith Lake.

“Firefighter Trogden got all suited up, hooked up with the safety equipment and went in and pulled the dog out of the ice,” said Smith Valley Fire Captain James Brower.

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It was a close call on Saturday when “Stella” a 60-pound German Shepard fell through the ice on the northeast end of Smith Lake. Smith Valley volunteer firefighters walked a mile on the ice to reach Stella and pull her to safety.

“Got out of the water, was doing well, started shaking very quickly, got it reunited with the owner, had the owner get it in a warm spot right away,” said Brower.

Brower said all his firefighters are certified ice rescue technicians through Dive Rescue International.

“We never judge ice by thickness alone, there’s always a lot of different factors that look into it.”

Brower said open current waters leading into and from a lake are particularly dangerous as ice conditions can vary.

“A river feeding the lakes or a river going out of the lakes, any type of current, if there’s a current it definitely makes ice weaker, and then on the smaller lakes and a lot of the natural lakes we have around here, any place that there’s natural springs coming up feeding the lake through underground that’s going to be weaker spots and this was the instance on Smith Lake," Brower explained.”

Brower said people recreating on frozen bodies of water should always carry some sort of flotation device and rope. He added that time is of the essence if someone goes through the ice.

“Hypothermia kicks in quick if we’re not out of that water in a good time frame, especially with the colder weather,” said Brower.