Tourist steps through thin crust and into scalding water at Old Faithful in Yellowstone
A woman was injured by scalding water when she stepped through a thin crust and into scalding water near Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park, officials said.
The 60-year-old woman was visiting the park from Windsor, New Hampshire, and was walking off-trail near the Mallard Lake Trailhead with her husband and her leashed dog when she broke through the crust, the National Park Service said Sept. 18 in a news release.
She suffered second- and third-degree burns to her leg, officials said. Her husband and dog were not injured.
The couple went to a park medical clinic, and she was later transported in a helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for treatment.
The National Park Service reminded visitors to be extremely careful and stay on boardwalks and trails when in hydrothermal areas.
“The ground in these areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface,” officials said.
Pets are also not allowed “on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry and in thermal areas” of the park.
National Park Service officials are investigating the incident. It’s the first known thermal injury in Yellowstone in 2024.
Several people commented on the park’s post on Facebook, saying she must have ignored several signs warning visitors to stay on boardwalks.
Several suggested she should be fined, as others who have ventured off-trail in the park’s thermal areas have been.
“I’m relieved the dog is ok,” someone said. “How many times does this need to be repeated? They should be fined for their actions.”
“I hope she heals and I hope they are both cited for both being off trail and having a dog where they shouldn’t,” someone else said. “This stuff doesn’t need to happen.”
Yellowstone’s hot springs
More people have been injured or killed in the park’s hot springs than any other natural feature, rangers say.
In October 2021, a 20-year-old woman was severely burned after she ran into a hot spring to rescue her dog, McClatchy News previously reported. The dog died from its injuries.
A month earlier, a 19-year-old sustained third-degree burns over 5% of her body after visiting the Old Faithful geyser.
In 2016, a man may have dissolved after trying to soak in a thermal area, a practice known as “hot potting.” Workers couldn’t find any remains, and park rangers believe he dissolved in the deadly hot water, the Associated Press reported.
Several tourists have been fined for leaving the boardwalks.
In 2021, a man from Maine plead guilty to trespassing on Old Faithful and was sentenced to 15 days in jail, McClatchy News reported.
In 2022, a social media influencer pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and agreed to pay about $2,000 after he filmed himself walking on geothermal grounds in the park for a TikTok video, McClatchy News reported.
Thermal trespass, the formal name of the offense, is punishable by up to $5,000 in fines and six months in jail.
This story was originally published September 18, 2024 at 2:40 PM with the headline "Tourist steps through thin crust and into scalding water at Old Faithful in Yellowstone."
