Firefighters donned water suits and came to the rescue of two deer who had fallen through the ice into Pistakee Lake near Johnsburg Tuesday morning, officials said.
The McHenry Township Fire Protection District responded around 8:15 a.m. Tuesday to the 3700 block of Pitzen Road in Johnsburg for a citizen assist call.
A caller reported deer were stuck in the ice on Pistakee Lake approximately 50 feet from shore.
Fire officials said firefighters arrived and found two deer that had fallen through the ice on the lake.
Two firefighters donned cold water rescue suits and walked out to where the deer were to rescue them.
The firefighters safely reached both deer and brought them back to the shore, fire officials said.
“A good remindeer for everyone that no ice is truly safe ice!” the McHenry Township Fire Protection District said.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources was notified and responded to the scene after the fire department left.
The unusual incident is not the first time that the fire department has rescued stranded deer from the ice in McHenry County.
The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District responded in January 2025 to the Fox River and found a deer stranded on the ice in the middle of the river.
A firefighter wearing a rescue suit used a ladder to get the deer out of the water and push it back to shore.
The animal was uninjured but “exhausted from the ordeal” and was seen resting in a nearby yard, fire officials said.