MARSHALL — Recent cold weather has helped ice form on Minnesota lakes, but that ice might not be thick enough for activities like fishing or skating, the Minnesota DNR cautioned this week.

Around the Marshall area, interest in ice fishing has only just begun for the season. At Borch’s Sporting Goods in Marshall, Jeremy Barck said he’s seeing maybe a few people looking for supplies like bait.

“People are just starting to get out,” Barck said. Usually, anglers like to see a good amount of ice by early January, he said. “Around here, it’s still pretty spotty.”

Earlier this week, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources spokespeople urged the public to exercise caution around ice in the wake of several incidents involving people falling through thin ice. Three different incidents were all reported Monday. In Superior, Wisconsin., a Duluth man was found dead after falling through ice in Woodstock Bay. Two separate incidents were reported in Woodbury — one in which a man was rescued after falling through thin lake ice, and another where two children were hospitalized after being rescued from a different lake.

Ice needs to be at least four inches thick to safely support a person on foot, but no ice is 100% safe, the DNR said. The DNR doesn’t measure ice thickness on Minnesota lakes, and it is the public’s responsibility to check ice thickness and make sure they have safety gear.

It’s recommended that people not go out on the ice without letting someone know where they are going, and when they expect to return. The DNR also recommend wearing a foam life jacket or other buoyant gear, and carrying ice picks.

The DNR has more safety resources, including information on ice formations and conditions, available online at https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/ice/index.html.

So far, ice seems to be forming at about the average time this year, Barck estimated. However, a lot of different factors, like temperature and wind, will have an impact on whether the ice on area lakes will be good for fishing this year. Barck said it was hard to compare this winter’s conditions to previous seasons.

“It’s been so up and down the past couple years,” he said.

Last winter, above-normal temperatures meant there was little to no ice on area lakes.