High water levels in the Gardner River erode Yellowstone National Park’s North Entrance Road, where the park was closed due to heavy flooding, rockslides, extremely hazardous conditions near Gardiner, Montana, U.S. June 13, 2022.
NPS | Reuters
All five entrances to Yellowstone National Park have been temporarily closed after unprecedented rainfall and flooding damaged the park’s infrastructure, creating “extremely hazardous conditions.”
Park officials said the deluge has led to rockslides, mudslides, damaged roads and power outages.
“Preliminary assessments show multiple sections of roads throughout the park have been either washed out or covered in mud or rocks, and multiple bridges may be affected,” officials said in a statement.
In this photo provided by the National Park Service, is a large rockslide on North Entrance Road in Gardner Canyon of Yellowstone National Park, Montana on Monday, June 13, 2022. All the entrances to Yellowstone National Park were temporarily closed Monday due to substantial flooding, rockslides and mudslides on roadways from recent unprecedented amounts of rainfall and flooding, park officials said.
NPS | AP
The park is shut to inbound visitor traffic through at least Wednesday as officials assess the damage. Forecasts are calling for even more rainfall, with the Yellowstone River already at record levels.
Visitors began to be evacuated from the park on Monday afternoon.
The highway between Gardiner and Mammoth in Montana is washed out trapping tourists in Gardiner, as historic flooding damages roads and bridges and floods homes along area rivers on Monday, June 13, 2022.
NPS | AP
“We will not know timing of the park’s reopening until flood waters subside and we’re able to assess the damage throughout the park. It is likely that the northern loop will be closed for a substantial amount of time,” superintendent Cam Sholly said in a statement.
A house falls into the Yellowstone river due to flooding in Gardiner, Montana, U.S., June 13, 2022 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video.
Angie Lilly | Reuters
“Strains on wastewater and water treatment facilities could become a factor and the park is taking precautions to ensure facilities are not failing,” Yellowstone said in a statement.