The entrances to Yellowstone National Park have been closed and visitors evacuated after heavy rains and floods that took away roads and caused landslides, authorities said.
Millions of visitors each year are drawn to the desert and active geysers in Yellowstone, the oldest national park in the United States and spanning more than two million acres in the northwest corner of Wyoming and in Montana and Idaho. In 2021, more than 4.8 million people visited the park.
On Monday, park manager Kam Sholi announced that its five entrances were closed to incoming traffic, at least until Wednesday, due to “extremely dangerous” conditions. A video recorded by a helicopter shows a swollen river flowing along a collapsed, eroded lane at the northern entrance to the park.
Visitors were evacuated from the northern part of the park, where there were many landslides and where roads and bridges failed, Mr Sholi said in a statement. Parts of Gardiner, a village of about 800 people that serves as the park’s main northern entrance, had no electricity or water and are receiving help from Montana authorities, he said.
Mr Scholly said the time to reopen the park was uncertain until officials could assess the damage. “The northern contour will probably be closed for a long time,” he said.
Visitors to the south of the park will also be evacuated, with forecasts of rising flood levels raising concerns about water and wastewater systems, said Mr Scholly, who was appointed superintendent of the park in 2018.
Heavy rain on Sunday and melting snow caused flooding, which will continue to make its way through the river system on Tuesday through northwestern Wyoming and southwestern Montana, the National Weather Service said. Jason Straub, a meteorologist with the Meteorological Service, said 1.37 inches of rain fell on Sunday, according to measurements made at Yellowstone Lake, which broke the record of just under half an inch in 2005.
On Tuesday, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte declared a nationwide disaster “due to flooding to help affected communities get back on their feet as soon as possible.” He also said 12 people who had been blocked due to flooding north of the park, in Roscoe and Cook City, Montana, had been evacuated by the Montana National Guard.
While lower temperatures were forecast to slow the rate of snowmelt, the region remains under flood warning until Tuesday, the meteorological service said. Thunderstorms and strong winds are forecast, mainly in northern Wyoming, and the probability of thunderstorms persists for the rest of the week.
The unruly weather system caused floods to spill over southwestern Montana, affecting Park County residents along the edge of the park.
Patients and staff at a hospital in Livingston, Mont., Were evacuated Monday as a precaution against rising floods, and emergencies were diverted, the facility said. Residents of some parts of the county, including Livingston, have been evacuated from their homes, authorities said.
“Travel is extremely limited and dangerous in many places,” emergency officials said in a statement from Park County. “Many bridges and roads are no longer working. Many people have no access to the sea. “
Among them was Angie Lily of Lake Stevens, Washington, northeast of Seattle, who had visited Yellowstone over the weekend with her mother and sister.
“We were all very excited to see most of it on Sunday,” 38-year-old Lily told the park, citing the Old Faithful Geyser as an accent.
Then it rained and the family took shelter at their hotel in Gardiner. When they woke up on Monday, the roads to and from the hotel were washed away or badly damaged, she said.
“We had no idea we would wake up in the morning and stay here,” she said.
Now, she said, she does not know when she will be able to return to her husband and four children.
“We can’t go anywhere,” she said. “All the way out of here is gone right now, so we’re stuck.”
Kevin Oviedo, who works as a porter at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel in the park, said in an interview that he has been trying to get a job for the past few days, mostly to spend his time.
“I have nothing better to do,” said 20-year-old Oviedo, who had no electricity at home on Tuesday. I’ll just sit in a dark room.
At Paradise Valley, which connects Livingston with Gardiner at the northern end of Yellowstone, residents watched the Yellowstone River overflow its roads and take over property along the way. A station where homeowners can fill sandbags has been set up at the Park County Fairgrounds.
“It’s a matter of life and death,” said Christine Jupp, a Park County resident who helped motorists stay away from the rising waters, she told KBZK News, a television station in Bozeman, Mont.
Johnny Diaz and Jesus Jimenez contributed to the report.
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