GARDINER, Mont. – Officials at Yellowstone National Park assessed the damage Tuesday as the park remained closed through at least Wednesday amid dangerous flooding and landslides that eroded roads, tore up bridges and prompted evacuations this week.
With flood levels “beyond record lows” and rainfall expected for the next few days, all five entrances to the park have been closed, officials said Monday.
The park has experienced multiple road and bridge failures, power outages and mudslides, prompting evacuations beginning in the northern part of the park.
“I’ve never seen this, not in my life,” said Austin King, a firefighter and EMT in Gardiner, a town just outside Yellowstone’s bustling northern entrance.
No injuries were immediately reported, but the floodwaters washed away many homes, bridges and other structures, with the northern part of the park suffering the worst damage.
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Parker Manning, who is from Terre Haute, Indiana, watched the flooding from a cabin in Gardiner. He said he saw trees and a mostly intact house floating in the floodwaters.
The Yellowstone River hit highs of nearly 14 feet on Monday, much higher than the previous record of 11.5 feet set more than a century ago, according to the National Weather Service.
The surrounding communities are blocked, without electricity
Flooding has left the small gateway communities of Yellowstone in southern Montana isolated and without power, prompting evacuations by boat and helicopter.
With road access cut off in Gardner, the town of about 900 people became virtually an island, where the only way in or out was by plane. A bunker for 10 people was among the buildings that slid from the bank. Only part of the house’s foundation remained as of Tuesday.
“The community of Gardiner is currently isolated and we are working with the county and the state of Montana to provide the necessary support for residents, who are currently without water or power in some areas,” Yellowstone officials said Monday.
Floodwaters also isolated Cooke City and led to evacuations in Livingston. As the Stillwater River in south-central Montana flooded, 68 people became stranded in a campground as crews rescued campers by raft.
Officials in Park County, which encompasses those towns, issued shelter-in-place orders on Monday, warning that flooding had made drinking water unsafe in many communities. Residents carried bottled water home from stores and worried about a possible food shortage. The county said sea and air rescues were underway amid evacuations on Monday.
“Extensive flooding throughout Park County has washed away bridges, roads and left communities and homes isolated,” Park County said in a statement.
In the south-central Montana town of Joliet, Kristan Apodaca wept as he watched floodwaters invade his grandmother’s log cabin and the park where her husband proposed.
“I’m sixth generation,” she told the Billings Gazette. “It’s our home.”
King, Gardiner’s EMT, said the flooding was “damaging for a lot of people”.
“Some have lost their homes, others can’t go to work,” Gardiner said. “People are already worried about food shortages.”
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When will Yellowstone reopen?
Yellowstone officials have banned visitors from entering the park through any of its five entrances until at least Wednesday.
Cory Mottice, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Billings, Montana, said reduced rainfall and cooler temperatures, which could lead to less snowmelt, could reduce flooding.
Still, “this is a flood we’ve never seen in our lifetimes before,” Mottice said.
Why is Yellowstone flooded?
Record rainfall combined with a rapid melting of the snowpack caused the deluge of floods this week, with scientists indicating that climate change is responsible for more intense and frequent weather events.
The flooding comes as summer tourist seasons intensify in the area in June, one of the park’s busiest months.
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What state is Yellowstone National Park in?
The world’s first national park, Yellowstone National Park, is a nearly 3,500 square mile wilderness park atop a volcanic hotspot. It’s mostly in Wyoming, but also in Montana and Idaho.
The park allows visitors “to view wildlife in an intact ecosystem, explore geothermal areas that contain about half of the world’s active geysers, and see geological wonders like the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River,” according to the Yellowstone website.
Contribute: The Associated Press
Contact News Now Reporter Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.
Hannah Phillips of the Palm Beach Post reported from Gardiner, Montana.
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