The Eagle River Fire Department hopes to begin construction of the community’s famous ice castle soon.
They plan to start on Wednesday, January 8th, but it will depend on the condition of the ice in Silver Lake, where the blocks are harvested.
Volunteers will be needed to help.
The process takes about five days once it gets started.
They start by pre-cutting around 2-thousand ice blocks, leaving about 2 inches to be cut by hand on harvest day.
The second day, when they harvest and haul the ice, needs the most volunteers, including people with half-ton pickups with empty beds.
About 100 truckloads of ice need to be hauled.
The remainder of the five-day schedule is spent shaving ice blocks and constructing the ice castle.
Those who want to volunteer can show up at the railroad depot in Eagle River to check-in.
More details can be found on the Eagle River Fire Department Facebook page.
Poor winter weather prevented construction of the ice castle the last several years.
The ice castle was last built in 2022.
