Yellowstone National Park Declared Disaster Area After Record Flooding

Things aren’t looking so good at Yellowstone National Park.

Flooding and rockslides have prompted Montana Governor Greg Gianforte to declare a statewide disaster. He tweeted, “I have declared a statewide disaster due to flooding to help impacted communities get back on their feet as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, the Yellowstone National Park Instagram account has taken to Instagram to share photos of the flooding and damage done to the park to explain why it has remained closed through at least Wednesday.

In a statement published on Monday, June 13, at 2:15 PM local time, the Yellowstone National Park Service made it clear that the national park would be closed due to “heavy flooding, rockslides, and extremely hazardous conditions.”

Earlier that morning, at 9:21 AM local time, they had closed the roads in the northern portion of the park due to “substantial flooding, rockslides, and mudslides on roadways from recent unprecedented amounts of rainfall.”

Five roads were closed, including the north entrance to the Mammoth Hot Springs. Even if the park reopens, it’s possible that some of these roads will remain closed to repair the substantial damage done by the heavy flooding.

The park service explained that they had conducted preliminary assessments on the roads and found that “multiple sections of road in the park have been washed out between Gardiner and Cooke City, Montana, and multiple bridges may be affected.”

They reported that visitors in the northern portion of the park are being evacuated, which is no easy task with the substantial amount of flooding on the roads. U.S. Highway 89 S was closed at Yankee Jim Canyon after approximately three feet of water was found covering the roads. Residents have been advised to check the Montana Department of Transportation for more information regarding road closures.

The National Park Service is currently working with the communities of Gardiner, Silver Gate, and Cooke City in order to provide support to residents who have been impacted by the flooding. The park announced that they are going to be assessing damage in the southern portion of the park soon, but heavy rainfall is expected to continue throughout the next few days.

Superintendent Cam Sholly made a short statement to explain why Yellowstone National Park is closed due to heavy flooding, rockslides, and extremely hazardous conditions.

“Due to record flooding events in the park and more precipitation in the forecast, we have made the decision to close Yellowstone to all inbound visitation,” superintendent Sholly began.

“Our first priority has been to evacuate the northern section of the park where we have multiple road and bridge failures, mudslides and other issues,” Sholly explained. “The community of Gardiner is currently isolated, and we are working with the county and State of Montana to provide the necessary support to residents, who are currently without water and power in some areas.”

He continued, “Due to predictions of higher flood levels in areas of the park’s southern loop, in addition to concerns with water and wastewater systems, we will begin to move visitors in the southern loop out of the park later today in coordination with our in-park business partners.”

“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,” Sholly advised. “It is likely that the northern loop will be closed for a substantial amount of time. I appreciate the efforts of the Yellowstone team and partners to safely evacuate areas of the park and of our gateway community partners who are helping us through this major event.”

Sholly concluded, “We appreciate the support offered by the Department of Interior, National Park Service and the Montana and Wyoming governors.”

According to the National Park Service website, Sholly assumed the duties as superintendent in October 2018. Yellowstone is reported to be one of the largest national parks in the world, spanning 2.2 million acres and welcoming more than four million visitors each year.

Earlier this week, the Yellowstone National Park posted a video on their Instagram page to show the damage that the flooding has done to the roads leading in and out of the park.

The video description reads: “Aerial video taken from a helicopter of a paved road, eroded and washed out in several places due to high water levels in adjacent river. Video filmed by Yellowstone’s helicopter manager from a park helicopter.”