Rebuilding Yellowstone National Park will take years, officials say

Rebuilding Yellowstone National Park will take years, authorities project after roads, bridges and structures were washed away by flooding this week.

The park was being prepared for the peak tourist season during the 150th anniversary celebration and nearby communities were awaiting the arrival of visitors, however

The flooding began when up to 3 inches of rain this week and snow melt from warming temperatures combined to create catastrophic conditions in the 150-year-old park and stretch across Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho with about 2.2 million acres.

Yellowstone officials told The Associated Press news agency that the park's reconstruction will cost more than $1 billion.

The entrance to Yellowstone National Park, a major tourist attraction, remains closed due to historic flooding June 15, 2022, in Gardiner, Montana.AP

According to the agency, the greatest damage occurred on the roads, especially at the northern entrance of the park in Montana, where several sections were undermined by the overflow of the Gardner River.

[On Video: They Capture the Rock Slide in Yellowstone National Park]

"It's not going to be an easy rebuild," Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly said earlier this week as he highlighted photos of the huge potholes in the highway, saying work should be done with caution because

due to the effects of the climate emergency.

Experts already warn of several challenges for the reconstruction of the park, especially on the road near Mammoth Hot Springs, a limestone mountain, bubbling waters and colored terraces.

28 million people are on alert for the heat wave that suffocates part of the US.

June 18, 202201:43

Brett Hartl, director of government affairs for the Center for Biological Diversity, told The Associated Press that this will be one of many natural structures that must be preserved amid rebuilding.

"They're going to have to take into account all the resources that the park needs to protect and try to do this project as carefully as possible, but they're also going to try to go pretty fast," Hartl said.

The Governor faces criticism

For his part, the governor of Montana, Republican Greg Gianforte, was in Italy while the park suffered the impacts of flooding, his office confirmed on Friday.

As reported by The Washington Post, the governor's team only spoke until the end of the week after many people wondered where he was.

"When severe flooding occurred, the Governor delegated his disaster response authority to Lieutenant Governor Kristen Juras, with whom he worked closely over the past four days to take swift and decisive action," the Governor's Office said.

The governor was present at a meeting until Friday and according to his office he was "grateful" to be back in Montana to "inspect the damage and meet with residents and local officials about recovery and rebuilding."