Park officials said that the kid was at the Grand Prismatic hot spring site when the accident happened. In a statement, the National Park Service said that the child fell into a small thermal feature when the child runoff from the trail and slipped. It also noted that the incident is under investigation.
The Child Suffered Second-Degree Burns
The park service said that the child they took to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center Burn Center described the child's injuries as second-degree burns. It affected the child's lower body and back.
On Friday night, a hospital representative did not respond immediately to a comment request. The park service also did not give any condition. It also did not provide any detail about the hurt child. The park did not reply to an email sent that was seeking for more information.
First National Park
In 1872, Yellowstone became the first national park. It covers around 3,500 square miles, mostly in Wyoming. Other than that, it is famous for its hot springs, geysers, and other thermal features.
The park says that the ground in thermal areas is thin, with scalding water below the surface. It described the land near hot springs as a breakable crust.
The Second Significant Injury This Year
The park noted that the incident on Friday was the second significant injury in a thermal area this year. A woman fell into the famous geyser, Old Faithful, thermal feature in May. She was backing up and taking photos when the accident happened.
Officials said at that time that the woman had illegally entered the park when she suffered burns. It was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the past, there have been other burns that occurred too. A 23-year-old Portland, Oregon man died after falling into a hot spring near Porkchop Geyser in June 2016. He and his sister had left the boardwalk, as stated by the park. His sister did not suffer any injury.
The park also said that one person died and two others severely burned in August 2000 after they fell at the Lower Geyser Basin hot spring.
Yellowstone has reminded that visitors should stay on boardwalks and trails. Apart from that, adults should keep children from running on paths and remain close to each other.
In May, Yellowstone started a phased reopening after it had closed in March due to the health crisis. According to NPS figures, the park ranked sixth as the most visited national park in 2019. It had four million visits.
