A young Washington woman suffered burns to most of her body when she tried to pull her dog out of a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park.
The 20-year-old, whose name or hometime were not identified, was traveling with her dog and her father when they stopped Monday in the vicinity of Fountain Flat Drive south of Madison Junction, a park release said Tuesday.
When they got out of their vehicle to look around, the dog jumped out of the car and into Maiden's Grave Spring, a simmering spring named for the nearby grave of Mattie Culver, who died in 1889 during childbirth at the Marshall Hotel that once stood in the area.
The father pulled his daughter out of the spring and drove her to West Yellowstone, Montana, for treatment, the park release said. Yellowstone rangers and Hebgen Basin Rural Fire District crews provided initial care to the woman, who sustained burns from her feet to her shoulders, at West Yellowstone. She was then transported to the Burn Center at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, the release said.
No further information on the woman's condition was known. The father managed to pull the dog out of the spring and planned to take it to a veterinarian, the release added.
According to The Geysers of Yellowstone by T. Scott Bryan, Maiden's Grave Spring is "a gently boiling pool surrounded by a log rail fence." It lies near the west side of the Fire Hole River.
This is the second significant injury in one of the park's thermal areas this year, accoridng to the release. The first occurred in September at Old Faithful, when a 19-year-old woman from Rhode Island suffered second- and third-degree burns to 5 percent of her body. In 2020, a three-year-old suffered second degree-thermal burns to the lower body and back while running down a trail near the Fountain Freight Road and falling into a thermal area. Early in 2020 year a woman who illegally entered the park while it was closed due to the Covid pandemic fell into a thermal feature at Old Faithful while backing up and taking photos.
In September 2019, a man suffered severe burns after falling into thermal water near the cone of Old Faithful Geyser. In June 2017, a man sustained severe burns after falling in a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin. In June 2016, a man left the boardwalk and died after slipping into a hot spring in Norris Geyser Basin. In August 2000, one person died and two people received severe burns from falling into a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin.
Comments
How horribly sad for this entire family, including the dog! Yellowstone is not a good place to bring pets or small children. It only takes a second for an accident to happen. And having any kind of accident in a park where so many things can & will kill you is never a good thing.
Always leash your pets & stay on the trails & boardwalks. And in Yellowstone - always pay attention to your surroundings. Be safe out there.
Pets must be in your immediate control at all times, what part about this concept don't people get ? If your dog is a door dasher you need to leash it before the door is opened until it can be trained not to jump and run .. young women appear to be oblivious of this concept . It's not the pet that needs training , its the stupid human that needs a training course .
I disagree with "bunnyhugger". Yellowstone is a wonderful safe place to visit, considering millions of people managed to see it with small children and pets and NOT get hurt says it all. People need to Pay Attention and FOLLOW THE RULES.
It really is that simple.
Prayers for the girl and dog.
I understand the fact that people love their animals but you have to be smart you must keep your animals on leashes because this happens because people are in a habit of letting their animals run free and along with that not watching your children these guys are dangerous and we must be wise when we are in Yellowstone I have been in Yellowstone so many times I can't even count it when I was a Greyhound bus driver I've seen people do stupid stuff without even thinking and particularly when it comes to the animals people do stupid stuff they get too close to the canyons to take pictures bear in mind the forestry department will get your camera but there might be a whole season they are unable to retrieve your body.
These are very unfortunate events. When you have literally millions of people visiting these thermal areas accidents are unfortunately almost inevitable numbers wise. I can totally imagine that happening with an excited dog, god bless them all. The way you listed every accident and never mentioned that it takes mistakes for them to happen almost feels like you are blaming the hot water for their misfortune or extremely unfortunate mistakes.
Everything is great at Yellowstone IF you follow the rules. Millions do it, yearly. Leash all pets and small children. Or don't bring them. Those purposely breaking rules must be JAILED.
Yellowstone is not a Theme Park. The animals are wild. The thermal features are dangerous. Read the warnings and obey the warnings and have an enjoyable visit. Or stay away.
I'm sure your comment is benefitting the poor girl and her dog.
Have A Nice Day.