Woman is burned after falling into thermal feature within closed Yellowstone Park
A woman who illegally entered Yellowstone National Park while it was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic was badly burned on Tuesday morning after falling into a thermal feature, a park official said.
The woman, who was not identified, was reportedly backing up while taking photos and fell into a hot springs or fumarole at Old Faithful.
“We do not know which thermal feature she fell in,” said Linda Veress, park public information specialist in an email. “We do know that she suffered burns.”
After falling into the thermal feature the woman drove north through the park before being stopped by park rangers about one mile south of Mammoth Hot Springs.
“Due to her injuries, she was life-flighted to the Burn Center at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center,” Veress said. “This incident is under investigation.”
Yellowstone has been closed to the public since March 24 in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak at the request of county health officials and the governors of Montana and Wyoming. Although there are plans to reopen the park with limited services, a date has not yet been set.
There are more than 10,000 thermal features in Yellowstone, from geysers and hot springs to steam vents and mudpots.
In some of these the water temperature exceeds 400 degrees.
