A visitor to Yellowstone National Park was recently sentenced to one week in jail for trespassing into a “dangerous” geothermal area.
A news statement regarding the sentence was released on June 13 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the national park, which is primarily situated in Wyoming.
Viktor Pyshniuk, a resident of Lynwood, Washington, received a seven-day jail sentence for the trespassing incident.
Authorities claim that while on vacation, the 21-year-old male left the boardwalk area at Steamboat Geyser in the Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone.
The DOJ claims that the Steamboat Geyser is “the most dangerous” geyser in the world and the tallest active geyser in the world.
“It has erratic and unpredictable eruptions that can rise anywhere from six to 300 feet high,” officials stated.
A National Park Service (NPS) employee claimed to have seen someone “walking off the boardwalk” close to the geyser, according to the DOJ. According to reports, Pyshniuk said to the NPS officer that he was attempting to take photos of the hot spring.
“The employee had taken a photo of the defendant who had clearly crossed over the fence and was walking up the hillside within 15-20 feet of Steamboat Geyser’s steam vent,” the Department of Justice stated. “When contacted, Pyshniuk told the officer he left the boardwalk to take photos.”
“While speaking with Pyshniuk, the officer showed him the signs posted throughout the area stating it is illegal to leave the boardwalk and explained that walking in a thermal area is very dangerous due to possible weak ground layer, the geothermal features of mud pots, heated steam and water, and all other dangers associated with walking in a heated, unpredictable geothermal area.”
In addition to serving time in prison, Pyshniuk was placed on two years of unsupervised release and required to pay $1,550 in fines. In addition, the individual faces a two-year ban from Yellowstone National Park.
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Stephanie A. Hambrick, the magistrate judge, crafted the punishment with the intention of “deterring [Pyshniuk], specifically, but also the public from leaving the boardwalk in this area.”
“She expressed her concern that the defendant’s actions were seen by the people around him, and they might have thought it was okay to do the same thing,” the DOJ stated. “And if every visitor to [Yellowstone] disobeyed the rules, the park would be destroyed, and no-one would be able to enjoy it.”
In a statement, Acting US Attorney Eric Heimann claimed that entering Yellowstone’s thermal regions without permission is “dangerous and harms the natural resource.”
“In cases like this one where we have strong evidence showing a person has willfully disregarded signs and entered a closed, thermal area, federal prosecutors will seek significant penalties, including jail time,” Heimann stated.
