Yellowstone visitor suffers first reported thermal injury of 2024

JACKSON (WNE) — Yellowstone National Park has reported its first known thermal injury of the year.

A 60-year-old woman visiting from Windsor, New Hampshire, who was not identified by name, reportedly suffered second- and third-degree burns to her lower leg on Monday afternoon while walking in a thermal area near Mallard Lake Trailhead at Old Faithful.

The park said in a press release that the woman was walking off trail with her husband and a leashed dog in a thermal area when she broke through a thin crust over scalding water and suffered burns to her leg. Her husband and dog were not injured.

The woman and her husband went to a park medical clinic, where she was evaluated. She was later transported by helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls for further treatment.

The incident is under investigation and Yellowstone officials had no additional information to share, according to the park’s press release.

Park visitors are reminded to stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas and to exercise extreme caution. The ground in these areas is fragile and thin, and there is often scalding water just below the surface.

Park officials advise visitors not to touch thermal features or their runoff. Swimming and soaking in hot springs is prohibited. According to the park, more than 20 people have died over the years from burns after they entered or fell into Yellowstone’s hot springs.

Also, pets are prohibited on boardwalks, on hiking trails, in the backcountry and in thermal areas.

This story was published on September 19, 2024.