Woman Goes In After Dog In Yellowstone Hot Spring; Badly Burned
Yellowstone National Park officials say a woman suffered "significant" burns between her shoulders and feet Monday after retrieving a dog from a hot spring near the Firehole River.
According to a news release on Tuesday, the 20-year-old woman and her father got out of their vehicle to look around when the dog jumped out of a car and into a hot spring. The woman went into the hot spring to get the dog before her father pulled her out of the feature and drove them to West Yellowstone, Montana.
The National Park Service says park rangers and Hebgen Basin Rural Fire District personnel provided initial care to the woman at West Yellowstone before she was taken to the burn center at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.
The woman's condition is unclear. Her father reported that he intended to take the dog to a veterinarian.
Park officials remind the public to keep pets protected by physically controlling them at all times. That means pets must be in a vehicle, crate or on a leash no more than 6 feet long. Pets are not allowed on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry or in thermal areas.
Monday's incident marks the second significant injury in a thermal area this year. The first occurred at Old Faithful in September.