Tourist who walked into Yellowstone Geyser path is jailed for a week

Twenty people have died after walking onto thermal grounds at national park

A woman from Connecticut was jailed for a week and ordered to pay more than $2,000 in fines and fees for walking on dangerous thermal grounds near the geysers of Yellowstone National Park.

Madeline Casey, 26, of New Hartford, was hiking in the Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone when she and another person allegedly stepped off the boardwalk and onto the thermal ground surrounding the geysers.

Park guests are prohibited from leaving the boardwalks near the geysers, as the thermal grounds are unstable and fragile. Clear signage is posted around the boardwalk areas instructing guests not to leave the platforms.

While the geysers are incredible natural features, they are also deadly.

Yellowstone National Park Public Affairs Officer Morgan Warthin spoke with the Hartford Courant about the delicate landscape surrounding the geysers.

“Boardwalks in geyser basins protect visitors and delicate thermal formations,” she said. “The ground is fragile and thin and scalding water just below the surface can cause severe or fatal burns. More than 20 people have died from burns suffered after they entered or fell into Yellowstone’s hot springs.”

One recent death involved a tourist falling into a hot spring and boiling to death. A man and his sister were looking for a pool that was cool enough to bathe in - a practice called "hot-potting" - and while he was checking the temperature of a pool he slipped and fell into the boiling water. The man called out for help but quickly succumbed to the heat. His body was never recovered and eventually dissolved in the extremely hot pool.

The acting US Attorney Bob Murray condemned the woman for straying from the path and putting herself - and the fragile natural feature - at risk.

“For those who lack a natural ability to appreciate the dangerousness of crusty and unstable ground, boiling water, and scalding mud, the National Park Service does a darn good job of warning them to stay on the boardwalk and trail in thermal areas. Yet there will always be those like Ms. Casey who don’t get it," he said.

"Although a criminal prosecution and jail time may seem harsh, it’s better than spending time in a hospital’s burn unit.”

The Norris Geyser Basin, where the woman was walking, is the hottest and oldest of the park's thermal areas, and has produced some of the highest temperatures ever recorded in the park. The record temperature recorded 1,000 feet below the surface was 459 degrees (237 C).

The waters beneath the park's thermal areas are superheated by magma from an ancient volcano beneath the surface.