Connecticut woman jailed for walking on top of thermal ground at Yellowstone

“Boardwalks in geyser basins protect visitors and delicate thermal formations. The ground is fragile and thin and scalding water just below the surface can cause severe or fatal burns.” Yellowstone Public Affairs Officer Morgan Warthin

A New Hartford woman has been sent to jail for a week and ordered to pay $2,040 in fines and fees for leaving a boardwalk and walking on dangerous thermal ground in an area of hot springs in Yellowstone National Park.

Park tourist Madeline S. Casey, 26, was in the Norris Geyser Basin at the park’s northwest corner when the U.S. Attorney’s office in Wyoming said she and another person left the boardwalk to which visitors are restricted and wandered across the thermal ground that marks one of park’s most remarkable features.

Other tourists, who the U.S. Attorney’s office said were “concerned” by Casey’s behavior, documented it with photographs and video recordings.

Norris Geyser Basin is an area well marked with signs and warnings to stay on the boardwalk.

“Boardwalks in geyser basins protect visitors and delicate thermal formations,” said Yellowstone National Park Public Affairs Officer Morgan Warthin. “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 of those tourists boiled to death and dissolved after slipping into a pool of water while walking across the Norris Geyser Basin in search of a place to soak in warm water.

Acting U.S. Attorney Bob Murray said: “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.

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

Yellowstone Park is famous for its hydrothermal system and geysers because it sits atop a massive, ancient volcano which has forced superheated magma close to the earth’s surface. The Norris Geyser Basin is the hottest, oldest, and most dynamic of the park’s thermal areas and has produced the highest temperature yet recorded in any geothermal area in Yellowstone: 459°F at 1,000 feet beneath the surface. The superheated water is prevented from boiling by immense pressure.

Casey was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, $40 in fees and a $1,000 community service payment to the Yellowstone Forever Geological Resource Fund. She was sentenced by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark L. Carman in Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming, on Aug. 18.