‘Extremely selfish and disrespectful’ says woman who recorded Yellowstone visitors walking across geothermal pool

“I didn't think it was real for a second and then realized, ‘Oh my God, there are actually people on the bacterial mats of the Grand Prismatic spring.’ And it was just shocking. I just stood there like, with my mouth wide open,” she said. 

Saueressig, who has visited Yellowstone many times, said she knew how dangerous it can be to leave boardwalks and trails in geothermal areas. According to Yellowstone, more than 20 people have died after entering or falling into those features. 

“I'm like, ‘They're going to get hurt. Like they're going to fall through.' That bison just fell through last year and died,” Saueressig said.

 Other people in the area also witnessed the visitors, according to Saueressig. With the steam from the spring, it was difficult to see when the two walked back to the boardwalk, she said. 

Warning signs with illustrations across Yellowstone geothermal areas tell visitors that leaving the path is unsafe and against park rules. 

It just doesn't take much to be mindful. And I find it extremely selfish and disrespectful,” Saueressig said. 

Michael Poland, the scientist in charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, said the ground around hot springs can be unstable. 

“A lot of these hot springs have ledges around them that are very, very thin and undercut,” Poland said, “And so, it's very easy to basically to fall through and, and break into a deeper part of a pool.” 

 This was demonstrated back in June when ground in the Biscuit Basin fell away and created a new pool of boiling water, he said. 

Poland explained that geologists and engineers used thermal imaging to determine where it is safe to walk and build boardwalks. 

 Seeing people walking across the pool from so far away was terrifying, Saueressig said. She was worried the two visitors would fall through into the hot water. 

“You feel very helpless to do anything for them. You're so far away. And I just kept wondering, like, do you really not know how hot this water is? Do you not know people have died doing this?” 

The bacterial mats at Grand Prismatic Pool help create the feature’s distinct colors. Different kinds of bacteria are able to survive at different temperatures. Blue bacteria towards the center of the pools typically can survive the hottest temperatures and the orange toward the outside lower temperatures, Poland explained. But the bacterial mats can be damaged when people and animals walk across them. 

 “Park geologists and some of the engineers sort of go in and they kind of try to scrub that out and try to make it look somewhat natural in the area where the bacterial maps were defaced,” Poland said, “But it still takes about a year for the bacteria to sort of regrow in the area that was damaged.” 

Saueressig reported the incident to Yellowstone National Park. NonStop Local reached out to the park for comment, and they reiterated that leaving the paths was dangerous and against the rules.