Snowmobile racers’ trailers, trucks sink

Chuck Arpin had a bad feeling when he parked on the ice at Big Detroit Lake near Detroit Lakes, Mn. on Friday night.
And sure enough, when he returned Saturday morning, 12 trailers and four pickup trucks, including his own, were sinking into the water.
A pond-sized section of ice on Big Detroit Lake collapsed early Saturday morning under the weight of 16 closely-parked trailers and trucks.
Dozens of trailers were submerged in six-seven feet of water.
“Fortunately no one was hurt,” Arpin said here Monday morning. “This would have been disastrous if it happened mid-day Saturday with everyone on the ice.
“Somebody would have died for sure.”
Arpin had travelled there so his son, Steve, could compete in the World Snowmobile Association Pro Ice races. He had parked on the ice many times before, but was concerned by its thickness it the wake of recent unseasonably mild temperatures.
“I was a little leery of the ice so I parked very close to the shore and landing,” he recalled. “I told someone I would like to be right on the shore when these rigs go through.
“He said nothing was going to happen.”
Unconvinced, Arpin and fellow drivers parked 10 and 20 feet apart instead of the standard four feet to disperse the weight. But he said other drivers pulled in later that evening and parked in the empty spaces.
“They didn’t know any better. If those people wouldn’t have pulled in, we would be okay,” Arpin said.
At 4:30 a.m., a couple of participants sleeping in their vehicles awoke to find water in their truck.
By the time Arpin reached the lake at 5 a.m., 12 trailers and four heavy-duty pickup trucks were sinking. The back wheels of his truck, and the wheels of the trailer, were submerged in water as it slowly sank.
Arpin got his snowmobiles and equipment off the trailer before getting his vehicle safety on shore.
With water in the motors of four of his snowmobiles and other equipment, Arpin estimated he suffered $3,000-$4,000 in water damage.
Other racers had up to $150,000 worth of equipment at the bottom of the lake.