Scary Scene as Woman is Burned Hiking Off Trail at Yellowstone National Park

The National Park Service has reported a rare incident involving a 60 year old woman and her dog while visiting Yellowstone.

Katharine Lackey, USA TODAY

A scary moment occurred at the beginning of the week in Wyoming as a 60-year-old woman suffered an injury at Yellowstone National Park. 

According to a release by the National Park Service, the woman was visiting from the New Hamshire area with her husband and dog when she ventured off trail near the Mallard Lake Trailhead, an area near and known for the Old Faithful geyser. The area is a relatively popular spot where multiple hot springs. The trail itself is approximately three miles one way.

She was walking off-trail with her husband and her leashed dog in a known thermal area when she broke through a thin crust over the scalding waters on the trail. The release continued to report that the woman, whose name was not released by Park officials, suffered second and third-degree burns to her lower leg from the incident. 

After being initially treated at the park's local medical center, the woman and her family were transported to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for further evaluation. 

The release from the NPS urged visitors to "stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas and exercise extreme caution" following the incident. As what was discovered during the mishap, the ground is fragile due to the extremely dangerous hot water that sits below the surface in the area. 

Yellowstone is a vast park, spreading across three states, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, with over 900 miles of hiking trails, park officials reminded visitors in their release that pets are not allowed in thermal areas, which cover about 15 miles worth of boardwalks and trails close to some of the geological areas that require the most caution to navigate around. Some of the deepest thermal waters in the area’s temperature can reach approximately 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

Yellowstone, the nation's first national park, has an average draw of more than 4 million visitors per year and has had a large amount of injuries due to the thermal waters in the area. Since 1890, it has been reported by park officials that at least 22 people have died due to hot springs-related injuries. The incident is still under further investigation, and reports that no more updates on the situation are available at this time. The National Park Service did confirm that this is the first known thermal injury of 2024.