A Montana helicopter company transported about 40 people on Monday and Tuesday from a community airstrip in the town of Gardiner in Park County, Laura Jones of Rocky Mountain Rotors told CNN.
“We haven’t ‘rescued’ anyone that was in danger, we have mainly been transporting people out of there,” Jones said via email. “We have also taken some passengers in who had pets they needed to get to or live there and needed to get home.”
The park announced Monday afternoon that all park entrances were closed to visitors, citing “record flooding events” and a forecast of more rain to come.
The abundant rainfall and rapid snowmelt combined to produce up to three-quarters of a foot of water runoff, which is similar to the area receiving 2 to 3 months of June precipitation in only three days, according to CNN Weather calculations.
“Our first priority has been to evacuate the northern section of the park where we have multiple road and bridge failures, mudslides and other issues,” Yellowstone Park Superintendent Cam Sholly said in a statement Monday.
“Well over 10,000 visitors” were in the park, according to Sholly, who said at a news conference Monday he didn’t have an exact number, but average visitation in June can be between 15,000 and 20,000 people.
Officials have also issued warnings in many areas for residents to avoid drinking local water due to a broken water main and submerged wells.
The Park County town of Gardiner, located at the northern entrance to Yellowstone, is isolated and surrounded by water after heavy flooding washed out bridges and roads, county officials said on Facebook on Tuesday.
Damage from flooding in the town is “significant,” Park County Sheriff Brad Bichler said Tuesday.
“The water’s coming down and it’s kind of showing us exactly what kind of damage we’re dealing with,” Bichler said at a news conference.
Sholly told reporters Tuesday evening that the road between Gardiner and Cooke City will likely remain closed for the remainder of the season. He said no damage estimates are yet available.
“This is not going to be an easy rebuild,” Sholly said, referring the five-mile stretch of road most affected by the flooding. He said officials will have to assess whether it make sense to rebuild the…
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