After deviating off the Yellowstone Trail, a woman gets burns on her legs.
This week, a 60-year-old woman went off-trail in a thermal section of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and sustained second- and third-degree burns to her lower leg. The woman, who was visiting from Windsor, New Hampshire, broke through a thin crust over scorching water on Monday while walking near Mallard Lake Trailhead at the Old Faithful Geyser with her husband and a leashed dog, according to a news release issued by park officials on Wednesday.
Her dog and spouse were unharmed. The unidentified woman was assessed at a park medical clinic before being evacuated to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for additional care. Her condition was unknown at first.
Park officials emailed NPR on Thursday that the incident was under investigation and provided no additional details.
It added that going off the designated trails and boardwalks in the park is prohibited. Pets aren’t allowed on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry, or in thermal areas.
“The ground in these areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface,” officials said.
It’s the first known thermal-related injury at Yellowstone this year, but such incidents aren’t uncommon. Hot springs have injured or killed more people in Yellowstone than any other natural feature, the park said.
In 2021, a 20-year-old sustained thermal burns after trying to rescue her dog from a hot spring at the park.
Earlier this year, actor Pierce Brosnan pleaded guilty to straying from the trail during a 2023 visit to Yellowstone National Park.
But even the most vigilant visitors may be at risk of injuries caused by the near-boiling temperatures at the park’s thermal systems. In July, a hydrothermal explosion about 2 miles from Old Faithful spewed onto a boardwalk path, sent people running, and prompted an area of the park to close temporarily. Such events can be difficult to predict.
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