The park announced Monday afternoon that all park entrances were closed to visitors, citing “record flooding” and a forecast of more rain.
“Our first priority has been to evacuate the northern section of the park where we have multiple road and bridge failures, mudslides and other problems,” Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly said in a statement Monday.
Immediately north of Yellowstone, several Montana Park County cities are also experiencing severe flooding, which has ravaged bridges and roads, making it unsafe to travel or impossible to evacuate, Park County officials said Monday on Facebook. Officials have also issued warnings in many areas for residents to avoid drinking local water due to a broken water pipe and submerged wells.
“The river has never been so high before in my house,” said Elizabeth Aluck, who lives in Gardiner, Park County. Aluck told CNN Monday afternoon that he cannot evacuate because the roads and bridges around his house are washed away.
An Indiana family who was staying in a short-term rental cabin on Gardiner told CNN they had to leave Monday morning, but the flood left them stranded.
“Water levels were high on Saturday, but in the last 10-12 hours things have gotten harder,” Parker Manning said. “Our exit from the city would be north of 89, but currently these roads are all under water.”
According to CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller, the Yellowstone River, which runs through the park and several cities in Park County, rose to a record high Monday due to heavy rains and significant runoff from the merger. snow at higher altitudes.
The width of the Yellowstone River in Corwin Springs, Montana, reached 13.88 feet Monday afternoon, surpassing the historic 11.5-foot high ridge since 1918, NOAA River width data show. “The river is still growing near Livingston, and is expected to grow between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Monday,” Park County officials said on Facebook. In recent days, extreme weather events have affected communities across the country, including storms that have left nearly 300,000 customers without electricity in the Midwest, a tornado threat in Chicago and a severe heat dome that has left more than a third of the U.S. population is under heat alert.
Some are evacuated while others remain trapped
As several roads and bridges become impassable due to floodwaters, park and county officials are working to evacuate those who can and support those who cannot get out.
The Park County Sheriff’s Department issued a restraining order until 7 a.m. Monday for those south of mile 52.5 on U.S. Highway 89 South, the publication said. from Facebook.
The National Guard and local search and rescue teams were assisting with evacuations and rescues across the county, including two air elevators and a quick water rescue, the county said.
Several Park County communities are isolated and surrounded by water, including Gardiner, Cooke City and Silver Gate, an update said on the county’s Facebook page. Rapid flooding has also damaged homes, as images show houses partially or completely collapsing.
In neighboring Carbon County, Montana, flooding has disrupted utility lines, leaving many Red Lodge customers without electricity, officials said.
Meanwhile, several Yellowstone roads and bridges have also been affected by flooding, park officials say. Videos released by the park show parts of the paved road washed or heavily eroded.
Due to higher flood level forecasts and concerns about water and wastewater systems, the park also began pulling visitors out of the park’s southern loop on Monday, Sholly said.
“We will not know when the park will reopen until the flood waters subside and we can assess the damage to the entire park,” Sholly said. “The northern loop is likely to be closed for a considerable amount of time.”
The dramatic increase in rain strengthens the flood waters
In June, rainfall in northwestern Wyoming and southern Montana was more than 400 percent of the region’s average, according to Miller.
The dramatic increase in rainfall has been coupled with near-record temperatures in the region that have caused snow to melt in high-altitude areas, the Riverton, Wyoming NWS said. During Sunday night, melting snow made its way to streams and rivers, further increasing flood waters, the NWS said.
In addition to the record set in Corwin Springs, the Yellowstone River reached 10.9 feet in Livingston, Montana on Monday, surpassing the 1997 area record of 10.7 feet, the NWS said in Billings, Montana.
CNN’s Sara Smart, Claudia Dominguez, Raja Razek, Brandon Miller and Amanda Jackson contributed to this report.