Yellowstone closes ALL entrances due to ‘unprecedented’ flooding

Shocked bystanders captured the moment a large home was washed away down a surging Yellowstone River in Gardiner, Montana, Monday amid ‘unprecedented’ flooding that forced Yellowstone National Park to close its entrances to visitors for the first time in 34 years.

The home was reportedly occupied by employees of the park when it fell into the river. 

The Carbella Bridge, just north of the park, was also washed away as the river levels rose due to the rainfall, while a number of roads were washed out following devastating mudslides caused by the severe weather.

The park said in a statement: ‘Effective immediately, all entrances to Yellowstone National Park are temporarily CLOSED due to substantial flooding, rockslides and mudslides on roadways from recent unprecedented amounts of rainfall and flooding.’

The statement added: ‘With additional rainfall forecasted, the park does not want large numbers of day-use visitors stranded in the park.’

In a separate statement the National Park Service said that the flooding is ‘beyond record levels.’ The park’s service said that water levels had reached three feet in some places. 

While numerous homes and other structures were destroyed, there were no immediate reports of injuries. Yellowstone officials said they were assessing damage from the storms, which washed away bridges, caused mudslides and left small cities isolated, forcing evacuations by boat and helicopter.  

All five park entrances have been closed to inbound traffic for the first time since a series of devastating wildfires in 1988. The move comes just as the summer tourist season is ramping up.

Yellowstone National Park stretches across 2.2 million acres and is located primarily in Wyoming but stretches into Montana and Idaho also. It is perhaps most famous for its geysers, including Old Faithful. 

In June 2019, the final year prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the park saw over 780,000 visitors.  The month of June is supposed to mark the onset of an annual wave of over 3 million visitors that doesn´t abate until fall, is one of Yellowstone´s busiest months.

The National Park Service said that the flooding is ‘beyond record levels’

In this photo provided by Sam Glotzbach, the fast-rushing Yellowstone River flooded what appeared to be a small boathouse in the ‘gateway’ community of Gardiner

Yellowstone National Park is located primarily in Wyoming but stretches into Montana and Idaho too. Most famous for its geysers, most notably, Old Faithful

The statement from Yellowstone said that visitors will not be allowed access until ‘conditions stabilize and the park can assess damage to roads and bridges and other facilities’

The flooding cut off road access to Gardiner, Montana, a town of about 900 people near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Gardner rivers, just outside Yellowstone’s busy North Entrance. Cooke City was also isolated by floodwaters and evacuations were also issued for residents in Livingston

The National Weather Services’ Jason Straub said that a water gauge in the Lamar River in the northern section of Yellowstone is measuring the water at 16.7 feet – 4.5 feet above the highest previously recorded level, reports the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. 

And the Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs crested at 13.88 feet Monday, higher than the previous record of 11.5 feet set in 1918, according the the National Weather Service. 

Yellowstone got 2.5 inches of rain Saturday, Sunday and into Monday. The Beartooth Mountains northeast of Yellowstone got as much as 4 inches, according to the National Weather Service. 

The park will remain closed on Tuesday and Wednesday at a minimum. The statement from Yellowstone said that visitors will not be allowed access until ‘conditions stabilize and the park can assess damage to roads and bridges and other facilities.’

The National Weather Service forecasts scattered snow showers and rain in Yellowstone on Tuesday with a total snow accumulation of half an inch possible along with thunderstorms. 

Meteorologist Jason Straub told the Billings Gazette: ‘The heaviest rainfall has moved off to the east already, so they’re not expecting a lot of heavy rain. But there still might be showers in the area today, tonight and tomorrow.’

By Wednesday, the forecast is ‘mostly sunny’ with a high of 65F. By Friday, the high is expected to be close to 90F. 

More rain and thunderstorms are predicted for Saturday through Monday. 

The Carbella Bridge, which was washed away in the storm, was built in 1918 and added to the National Register of Historic Place in January 2010. The bridge is located close to the Montana state line and largest rapids on the Yellowstone River, Yankee Jim Canyon.

The Carbella Bridge shown here in 2013, the bridge runs across the Yellowstone River

The same bridge shown today after rising water levels in the river washed it away

According to the National Weather Service, scattered snow showers and rain are expected in Yellowstone on Tuesday with a total snow accumulation of half an inch possible along with thunderstorms

The park’s entrances will remain closed through until Wedneday

 A statement from Yellowstone said that visitors will not be allowed access until ‘conditions stabilize and the park can assess damage to roads and bridges and other facilities

According to the National Water Service, by 10:45 a.m. between 0.75 and 1.75 inches of rain had already fallen in the area

Rockslides shown here as a result of the mass flooding in Yellowstone 

Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly described the community of Gardiner as being ‘isolated’

Elizabeth Aluck, a resident of Gardiner, Montana – which is located at the north end of the park – told CNN: ‘The river has never been this high’

Officials in Gallatin County, which is located northwest of the park, said in a statement: ‘This water is moving very fast, is very cold, has large amounts of debris, and is extremely dangerous. Please stay away from the water!’

Around 56 employees at the Stillwater Mine in Nye, Montana, north east of Yellowstone were unable to leave due to a sinkhole that opened up due to flooding in the Stillwater River

Around 56 employees at the Stillwater Mine in Nye, Montana, north east of Yellowstone were unable to leave due to a sinkhole that opened up due to flooding in the Stillwater River, a tributary of the Yellowstone River.

Camper Justin Sheely described the Stillwater River as a ‘raging beast,’ in an interview with KTVQ. 

Sheely told the station that he, his wife and their five-year-old daughter were told to evacuate Monday morning due to the flooding. 

The family was taken to safety on a raft, leaving their car behind. The station reports that their car one of around two dozen vehicles abandoned in the area including RVs and campers.  

The staff are safe and are even providing shelter for some campers who were stranded due to the flooding, KTVQ reports. 

The flooding cut off road access to Gardiner, Montana, a town of about 900 people near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Gardner rivers, just outside Yellowstone’s busy North Entrance. Cooke City was also isolated by floodwaters and evacuations were also issued for residents in Livingston. 

Officials in Park County, which encompasses those cities, said on Facebook Monday evening that extensive flooding throughout the county had made drinking water unsafe in many areas. Evacuations and rescues were ongoing and officials urged people who were in a safe place to stay put overnight. 

The Montana National Guard said Monday it sent two helicopters to southern Montana to help with the evacuations. 

Elizabeth Aluck, a resident of Gardiner, told CNN:  ‘The river has never been this high before my house.’ Aluck went on to say that it was impossible for her to evacuate because of the flood levels on the roads. 

At a cabin in Gardiner, Parker Manning got an up-close view of the water rising and the river bank sloughing off in the raging Yellowstone River floodwaters just outside his door.

‘We started seeing entire trees floating down the river, debris,’ Manning, who hails from of Terra Haute, Indiana, told The Associated Press. ‘Saw one crazy single kayaker coming down through, which was kind of insane.’

The Boulder River south of Big Timber has flooded roads and homes on Monday, threatening access and evacuation points for local residents and holidaymakers

The highway between Gardiner and Mammoth in Montana has been washed out, taking a bite out of the highway and trapping tourists in Gardiner

The bridge to Tom Miner Basin off of Highway 89 south of Livingston has been washed away

On Monday evening, Manning watched as the rushing waters undercut the opposite riverbank, causing a house to fall into the Yellowstone River and float away mostly intact.

Floodwaters inundated a street in Red Lodge, a Montana town of 2,100 that´s a popular jumping-off point for a scenic, winding route into the Yellowstone high country. 

Twenty-five miles (40 kilometers) to the northeast, in Joliet, Kristan Apodaca wiped away tears as she stood across the street from a washed-out bridge, The Billings Gazette reported.

The log cabin that belonged to her grandmother, who died in March, flooded, as did the park where Apodaca´s husband proposed.

‘I am sixth-generation. This is our home,’ she said. ‘That bridge I literally drove yesterday. My mom drove it at 3 a.m. before it was washed out.’

Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly described the community of Gardiner as being ‘isolated.’ Sholly added: ‘We are working with the county and State of Montana to provide necessary support to residents, who are currently without water and power in some areas,’ according to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. 

The original warning from Yellowstone officials came early on Monday morning and only applied to the northern entrance to the park. Later in the day, it was extended through all entrances.

According to the National Water Service, by 10:45 a.m. between 0.75 and 1.75 inches of rain had already fallen in the area. While Lake Yellowstone was recording 1.75 inches of rain.   

Visitors in the northern part of the park were evacuated on Monday morning. 

Officials in Gallatin County, which is located northwest of the park, said in a statement: ‘This water is moving very fast, is very cold, has large amounts of debris, and is extremely dangerous. Please stay away from the water!’

The Park County Sheriff’s Office described the weather system as creating ‘extraordinary run off and flooding,’ in part due to rain falling on snow in the park. 

A flood warning in Fremont County in southeastern Idaho, 25 miles west of Yellowstone’s northern entrance, will remain in place until Wednesday. 

Fremont County Emergency Management Coordinator Keith Richey told East Idaho News: ‘This is the worst overflowing we’ve had. We get this every couple of years but this is the worst that we’ve had. Fremont County has staged sand and sandbags at the Shotgun Bar for those experiencing flooding in the area.’ 

A sudden spike in summer temperatures during the past three days also has hastened melting and runoff of snow accumulated in the park’s higher elevations from late-winter storms. 

Those planning to visit Yellowstone in the coming weeks are asked to constantly check road conditions. 

Cory Mottice, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Billings, Montana, said rain is not in the immediate forecast, and cooler temperatures will lessen the snowmelt in coming days.

‘This is flooding that we´ve just never seen in our lifetimes before,’ Mottice said.

Scientists say climate change is responsible for more intense and more frequent extreme events such as storms, droughts, floods and wildfires, although single weather events usually cannot be directly linked to climate change without extensive study.