YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — An aggressive storm in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) on Sunday wreaked havoc on roads, buildings, tourists and gateway communities in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.
The storm also triggered mudslides and rock slides, prompting Montana Governor Greg Gianforte to declare a statewide disaster.
An indefinite closure of the park is currently in place as officials assess storm damage.
“We will not know timing of the park’s reopening until flood waters subside and we’re able to assess the damage throughout the park. It is likely that the northern loop will be closed for a substantial amount of time,” said YNP superintendent Cam Sholly.
In Jackson, local officials opened up the Teton County Fairgrounds as a temporary self-contained camping site for those who had plans to camp in Yellowstone by way of Jackson.
Jackson businesses that offer tours of YNP have been fielding hundreds of calls from guests that are already booked about the impact of the flooding on their upcoming trips.
“Folks are concerned about their trip, so they’re looking for guidance, and unfortunately we don’t have much guidance to provide them,” says Taylor Phillips, owner of Jackson Hole Eco Tour Adventures. “All we can do is tell them to hold tight, give the waters a chance to recede and wait for further updates from the park service.”
That’s all Phillips can do with his company too. Eco Tour Adventures was running about 10 trips per day, and they canceled all trips for today and tomorrow, with trips scheduled for later in the week on alert. “The park service does a great job with the resources they have. Any sort of rebuilding of this magnitude is going to take time,” Phillips says. “We believe we’ll have more info by the end of today.”
Guides of Jackson Hole, a smaller company running one trip per day, has not been affected because a slow start to the season means they’ve been focusing on single-day trips in Grand Teton National Park. “The soonest trip we have scheduled to the northern part of Yellowstone is in mid-July, so we’re going to have to wait and see how things are looking and what’s safe to do at that point,” says Evan Matthews, the general manager of Guides of Jackson Hole.
Matthews and Phillips both offered support for the small communities who are being most impacted by the flooding.
“We have a lot of sympathy and compassion for our neighbors in Gardiner, Cooke City and Red Lodge, Montana,” Phillips says. “These communities have been hit quite hard, and it’s unfortunate and sad to think about the future that lies ahead for them. It’s going to be crushing for those communities.”
“We’re a naturalist guide company, so we understand nature does what it does,” Matthews says. “We can only be at the mercy of what’s happening, but it’s devastating to see the destruction…”
