At 8 a.m. on Friday, May 12, several road corridors within Yellowstone National Park officially opened for the Summer 2023 season, including the road between the West Thumb Junction to the Old Faithful Geyser Basin. But by 7:30 p.m. the next day, that road was closed and stayed closed for the entire weekend.
At 7:26 p.m. on Saturday, May 13, Yellowstone officials closed the road from Old Faithful to West Thumb Junction (over Craig Pass) due to “an ongoing law enforcement incident.” No additional information was provided.
The Old Faithful-West Thumb Junction road remained closed all-day Sunday, May 14. As of 4:00 p.m. Sunday, no reopening time has been announced.
This closure has immediately become a source of confusion and speculation. There is no information on what led to the closure, and the park has yet to release a statement.
In a post in the Cody Area Classifieds Facebook group, one member seeking information on the closure said they had heard of “a fatality” related to the incident and “multiple law enforcement agencies” were involved. KODI is currently unable to verify these claims.
The popular Norris Geyser Basin is also closed “until further notice,” according to the National Park Service’s Yellowstone Park Roads webpage. However, it’s unknown if the closure is linked to the Old Faithful-West Thumb road incident.
Text and email alerts for Yellowstone National Park road and entrance closures are available by texting “82190” to 888-777.
This is a developing story. More details will be published on kodiradio.com as information becomes available.
