Woman severely burned at Old Faithful

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — A Rhode Island woman was burned at Old Faithful on early Thursday morning.

She suffered second- and third-degree burns to 5% of her body, according to a news release from Yellowstone National Park.

The woman, a concessions employee, was taken by ambulance to West Yellowstone and then taken by air ambulance to the burn center at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.

“The ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface,” park officials said in the news release. “Everyone must always remain on boardwalks and trails and exercise extreme caution around thermal features.”

This is the first significant injury in a thermal area this year. Previous incidents include:

• 2020: A 3-year-old got second-degree thermal burns to the lower body and back. A visitor who illegally entered the park fell into a thermal feature at Old Faithful while backing up and taking photos.
• 2019: A man suffered severe burns after falling into water near the cone of Old Faithful Geyser.
• 2017: A man sustained severe burns after falling into a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin.
• 2016: A man left the boardwalk and died after slipping into a hot spring in Norris Geyser Basin.
• 2000: One person died and two people received severe burns from falling into a hot spring in Lower Geyser Basin

The most recent incident is under investigation. The woman’s name and current condition are unavailable.