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Stranded northern boaters set trees ablaze to draw attention

Stranded boaters on a deserted island in Gods Lake set fire to trees to create a beacon.

The RCMP said officers on patrol on the lake at about 1 a.m. Monday spotted the burning trees and then the boaters flicking lighters from shore.

RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Line Karpish said the boaters -- four adults and two children aged six years and seven months -- had run out of fuel on their way to Gods River and landed on the island, about 40 kilometres north of Gods Lake Narrows.

Police said the boaters were unprepared to spend the night on the island, so decided to set fire to some trees in a bid to draw attention.

The boaters had been on the island for about six hours before they were spotted by the RCMP.

The RCMP took the group to Gods Lake Narrows and they later made their way to Gods River on their own. No one was hurt.

The trees burned themselves out without the fire spreading to anything else on the island.


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Updated on Wednesday, July 25, 2012 at 2:19 PM CDT: Corrects spellings of Gods Lake and Gods River

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