Woman seriously burned after saving dog from Yellowstone hot spring

The 20-year-old from Washington state was taken to burns unit at Idaho hospital

Maidens Grave Hot Spring flowing into the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming,United States (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A woman is recovering from significant thermal burns across her body she suffered trying to save her dog from a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park.

Officials say that the 20-year-old from Washington state suffered burns form her shoulders to her feet in the incident.

The woman and her father had got out of their car to look around when the dog jumped out and ran into the Maiden’s Grave Spring near the Firehole River.

When the woman followed the dog into the spring her father had to rescue her.

She was taken to the Burn Center at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center after she received some initial treatment from park rangers and local fire officials.

The dog was removed from the hot spring but its condition is not known and park officials are investigating the incident.

Yellowstone has more than 10,000 hydrothermal areas, including its famous geysers and hot springs, which experts say can reach nearly 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

“The ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface. Everyone must remain on boardwalks and trails and exercise extreme caution around thermal features. Everyone must remain on boardwalks and trails and exercise extreme caution around thermal features,” the park said in a statement.

“While in the park, protect your pets by physically controlling them at all times. Pets must be in a car, crate or on a leash no more than six feet long. They are not allowed on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry, or in thermal areas.”

It is the second major incident in the park’s thermal area in 2021.

In September a 19-tear-old woman from Rhode Island suffered second and third-degree burns on five per cent of her body near Old Faithful Geyser.

In May 2020 a woman was burned after falling onto a thermal feature as she moved backwards taking a photo.

And in October 2020 a there-year-old was burned when they strayed off a trail and slipped into a small thermal feature near the Midway Geyser Basin.