YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyoming – A 60-year-old tourist was taken by helicopter to a hospital after suffering severe burns while trespassing into a thermal area in Yellowstone National Park. The woman was walking in an area near Mallard Lake Trailhead at Old Faithful with her husband and leashed dog (dogs are prohibited in Yellowstone’s thermal areas) when she broke through a thin crust and fell into scalding water. The woman suffered second and third degree burns to her leg.
Neither the husband nor the dog were injured in the incident. The New Hampshire woman was transported to the park medical center for evaluation before later being taken to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center by helicopter.
Visitors of Yellowstone National Park’s thermal areas are required to stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas throughout the park. Additionally, dogs and all pets are prohibited on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry, and in thermal areas inside Yellowstone National Park.
This is the first known injury from a thermal pool in Yellowstone this summer.
Yellowstone National Park Press Release:
Woman sustains thermal burns in Yellowstone National Park. Stay on trails and boardwalks in thermal areas!
On Monday afternoon, Sept. 16, 2024, a 60-year-old woman visiting Yellowstone from Windsor, New Hampshire, reportedly suffered second- and third-degree burns to her lower leg while walking in a thermal area near Mallard Lake Trailhead at Old Faithful.
The woman was walking off trail with her husband and leashed dog in a thermal area when she broke through a thin crust over scalding water and suffered burns to her leg. The husband and dog were not injured.
The woman and her husband went to a park medical clinic where they were evaluated. The patient was later transported via helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for further treatment.
Visitors are reminded to stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas and exercise extreme caution. The ground in these areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface.
Pets are prohibited on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry and in thermal areas in the park.
This incident is under investigation, and the park has no additional information to share.
This is the first known thermal injury in Yellowstone in 2024.