Record flooding forces Yellowstone National Park to close all its entrances, leaving locals trapped

Historic flooding affects Yellowstone Park 0:55

(CNN) --

Yellowstone National Park will remain closed to visitors through at least Wednesday due to dangerous flooding conditions, which have prompted evacuations in the park and left some people in surrounding communities stranded without drinking water. according to the authorities.

The park announced Monday afternoon that all of its entrances were closed to visitors, citing "record flooding" and more rain forecast.

"Our first priority was to evacuate the northern section of the park, where we have multiple road and bridge failures, mudslides and other issues," Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly said in a statement.

A road in Yellowstone National Park partially collapsed due to flooding on Monday.

(Photo: National Park Service via AP)

Immediately north of Yellowstone, several towns in Montana's Park County are also experiencing extensive flooding, which has washed out bridges and roads, making it unsafe to travel or impossible to evacuate, Park County officials said on Facebook Monday. .

Officials also issued warnings in many areas for residents to avoid drinking local water due to a broken water main and submerged wells.

• The United States suffers a day of extreme weather with heat warnings, severe flooding and power outages for thousands

"The river has never been this high near my house," said Elizabeth Aluck, who lives in Gardiner in Park County.

Aluck told CNN Monday afternoon that she is unable to evacuate because roads and bridges around her home have been washed out.

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An Indiana family staying in a short-term rental cabin in Gardiner told CNN they were supposed to leave Monday morning, but flooding left them stranded.

"The water levels were high on Saturday, but in the last 10-12 hours things got tougher," Parker Manning said.

"Our way out of town would be north on 89, but those roads are currently all under water."

The Yellowstone River, which runs through the park and several Park County cities, reached a record level Monday due to recent heavy rains and significant amounts of snow melt in higher elevations, according to CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller.

The Yellowstone River gauge in Corwin Springs, Montana, reached 13.88 feet Monday afternoon, surpassing the 1918 historic crest of 11.5 feet, according to gauge data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA).

"The river continues to rise near Livingston, and is expected to crest between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Monday," Park County officials said on Facebook.

Across the country in recent days, extreme weather events have hit communities, including thunderstorms that left nearly 300,000 customers without power in the Midwest, a tornado threat in Chicago, and a severe heat dome that has left more than a third of the US population under heat alerts.

A large rockfall on North Entrance Road in Yellowstone National Park on Monday.

(Photo: National Park Service via AP)

Some are evacuated while others remain trapped

As several roads and bridges are rendered impassable by flood waters, park and county officials are working to evacuate those who can and provide support to those who cannot get out.

The Park County Sheriff's Department has issued a shelter-in-place order through 7 a.m. Monday for those south of mile marker 52.5 on Highway 89 South, the Facebook post said.

The National Guard and local search and rescue teams were assisting with evacuations and rescues throughout the county, including two aerial lifts and a swift-water rescue, the county said.

Flooding causes part of a house in Gardiner, Montana to collapse into the water.

Several Park County communities are isolated and surrounded by water, including Gardiner, Cooke City and Silver Gate, according to an update on the county's Facebook page.

Rapidly rising waters have also damaged homes, with images showing houses partially or completely collapsed.

In neighboring Carbon County, Montana, flooding compromised utility lines, leaving many customers in Red Lodge without power, officials said.

Meanwhile, several roads and bridges in Yellowstone have also been compromised by flooding, park officials say.

Videos posted by the park show parts of the paved roads washed away or badly eroded.

A bridge on Rescue Creek in Yellowstone National Park was washed away.

(Photo: National Park Service via AP)

Due to forecasts of higher flood levels and concerns about water and wastewater systems, the park also began moving visitors out of the park's southern loop on Monday, Sholly said.

"We won't know when the park will reopen until the waters recede and we can assess the damage throughout the park," Sholly said.

"The northern circuit is likely to be closed for a considerable time."

Dramatic increase in rainfall bolsters flood waters

Historic flooding affects Yellowstone Park 0:55

In June, rainfall in northwestern Wyoming and southern Montana has been more than 400% of the region's average, according to Miller.

The dramatic increase in rainfall added to near-record temperatures in the region that caused snow to melt in high-altitude areas, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Riverton, Wyoming.

Overnight on Sunday, snowmelt reached creeks and rivers, increasing flooding, the NWS said.

In addition to the record set at Corwin Springs, the Yellowstone River reached 10.9 feet in Livingston, Montana, on Monday, surpassing the 1997 area record of 10.7 feet, the NWS in Billings, Montana said.

CNN's Sara Smart, Claudia Dominguez, Raja Razek, Brandon Miller and Amanda Jackson contributed to this report.

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