Incidents of vehicles or people falling through ice on area lakes have been reported over the past couple of weeks.

On social media, law enforcement agencies including the Murray County Sheriff’s Office and the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office have encouraged people to exercise caution before going out on frozen lakes.

On Sunday, the Murray County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook account posted two different accidents involving vehicles that went through lake ice. In one incident, a vehicle went through the ice on Lake Shetek, near a water access on Pleasant View Road. In another incident, a side-by-side fell through the ice on Current Lake, which is located east of Ruthton in Murray County.

Last week, Lyon County had an incident where a person went through ice on Lake Yankton in Balaton, said Sheriff Eric Wallen.

“We did have one gentleman share on Facebook that he went through the ice,” Wallen said.

The man was all right after the accident, but was urging people to be cautious.

Beyond that, Wallen said the Sheriff’s Office had not received other reports of vehicles going through ice in Lyon County. However, he said, “Use an abundance of caution if people are going out.”

Monday reports from conservation officers in the Marshall region mentioned areas of thin ice, and incidents with vehicles falling through. On the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ website, conservation officer Shawn Wichmann reported that warmer weather had created unexpected openings and thin ice locations on Slayton area lakes. Wichmann reported responding and assisting with a truck and an SUV that went through the ice on two separate area lakes.

In the Marshall area, conservation officer Matt Loftness said ice fishing activity has been high with good weather, but ice conditions were a concern. Open water has started to be seen along some shore areas and around some shallow points, Loftness said. Conservation officer Derek Daniels in the Lake Benton area also encouraged the public to exercise caution on the ice.

The DNR emphasizes that ice is never 100% safe, and encourages the public to check ice thickness before going out on a frozen body of water. About 4 inches of new, clear ice is needed to support the weight of a person on foot, and about 7 to 8 inches to support a side-by-side ATV, according to the DNR. About 13 to 17 inches of ice is needed to support the weight of a truck.

According to the National Weather service, temperatures in the Marshall area got above 50 degrees on Monday. Temperatures were forecast to get colder later this week, falling into the 20s and 30s. Chances of snow are forecast Thursday and Friday.