Yellowstone National Park employees took 10,000 visitors to safety this week as storms swept away roads and bridges, while nearby residents escaped as their homes were hit by mudslides and flooding caused by heavy rains. melting snow.
In Billings, a town in southern Montana with about 120,000 people, officials urged residents to save water after floods shut down the local water plant, according to a press release Wednesday. And officials at Gardnier, Mont. he warned neighbors that the water supply was contaminated and called for all drinking water to be boiled before consuming it.
The park will remain closed for the rest of the week as officials prepare for more flooding in four to five days, when the forecast calls for rain and high temperatures that could melt the remaining foot of snow in the Yellowstone Mountains.
Here are some scenes from the damage:
Residents of Red Lodge, Mont., A town northeast of Yellowstone, cleared mud, water and debris from its main street on Tuesday.
Near Yellowstone’s entrance, flooding swept across North Entrance Road into the Gardner River.
A Red Lodge home was swept away in Rock Creek by a raging flood. Authorities said more than 100 houses in the city had been flooded.
The Yellowstone River overflowed and caused bridges to collapse, including the Carbella Bridge, and swept Gardnier’s houses into the floodwaters. Residents quickly mobilized on Facebook to find housing for displaced families.
“People in Montana take care of their own,” said Britton Gray, pastor of Gardiner Baptist Church who helped find shelter for families whose homes were affected.
Patrick Gray is standing in the water around his home in Livingston, Mont., North of Yellowstone.
A house south of Livingston was surrounded by flood water.
David Armstrong poured a bucket of water from a flooded basement into Red Lodge.
The Montana Department of Transportation worked Wednesday to repair another road bridge that was damaged by flooding.
The northern half of the park, which suffered the most damage, is likely to remain closed for the rest of the summer travel season.