Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District crews say they rescued 10 deer that got swept down a canal and then got trapped inside a hydroelectric plant in Verdi on Thursday morning. 

Witnesses say they saw about 30 deer in the canal that flows into the powerhouse but most of them escaped on their own.

"You could see the hypothermia kind of setting in," Heather Powning, Verdi Resident said. "They were very cold, so they were fighting in the water and instantly just kind of floated down toward the canal."

Powning called emergency crews around 7:15 a.m. They arrived on scene on Bridge Street, where they found eight deer suffering from hypothermia. Two deer died in the water. 

"The crew had to force entry into the door," Battalion Chief Jay Cwiak, Truckee Meadows Fire Protections District said. "Very minimal damage but they were able to get in really quickly, within about 30 seconds or so."

Crews with TWMA, NV Energy, Washoe County Regional Animal Services, the Nevada Department of Wildlife and several bystanders helped rescue the deer. They massaged and put blankets over the deer to help warm them up. Some of the deer had severe, deep cuts which biologists stitched up. They also gave the deer fluids intravenously.

"There were some lacerations," Zac Campbell, Western Regional Education Supervisor for NDOW said. "They were really exhausted. So, we gave them fluids to get them back up on their feet."

Seven of the deer have already left the area, including a fawn that needed some extra care before it was strong enough to walk again.

"It's amazing because she wasn't doing so good this morning," Powning said. "She was very cold. She wasn't moving hardly at all, so this is amazing to see her get up and move."

NDOW took one deer to its facility for further evaluation, due to more serious injuries.

"It was a chaotic situation, trapped in the water," Campbell said. "Exhaustion plus the injuries, we just do everything we can to get every deer healthy again."

Officials say they do not know how the deer got into the canal, but it is possible that they floated up to a mile before reaching the plant.

TMWA owns three hydroelectric plants. Deer have ended up in them before, but not on this scale.

"We've had an occasional deer come in and normally when we get here, the deer is standing on the deck up there," Brent Eisert, Hydroelectric Supervisor for TMWA said. "This is highly unusual. I've never had an entire herd come through here."