PHOTO: Man Sentenced to Week in Jail for Thermal Trespass at Yellowstone National Park

A 21-year-old man was sentenced to a week in jail and ordered to pay a hefty fine after an incident at Yellowstone National Park.

Viktor Pyshniuk of Lynwood, Washington, was sentenced to seven days in jail for thermal trespass at Steamboat Geyser at the park’s Norris Geyser Basin, the National Park Service (NPS) announced Thursday.

The young man was placed on two years unsupervised release and banned from the park for two years over a closure violation. In addition, he was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine plus a court fee and assessment fee.

In a social media post on Thursday, the park shared an image of tourists at the site. A person is seen walking in the distance after having moved beyond the wooden fence:

“According to court documents, a YNP [Yellowstone National Park] law enforcement officer was dispatched to the thermal area at Steamboat Geyser by an on-duty park employee who reported a person walking off the boardwalk at that location,” the NPS news release continued:

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. 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.

Magistrate Judge Stephanie A. Hambrick imposed the sentence on June 4. During sentencing she explained to the defendant that the sentence was designed to deter him, 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. And if every visitor to YNP disobeyed the rules, the park would be destroyed, and no-one would be able to enjoy it.

The site’s Steamboat Geyser is the tallest active geyser in the world. It is also known to exhibit unpredictable eruptions.

Video footage shows the geyser as it erupts into the sky:

Video footage taken in 2021 shows the moment a Grizzly bear appeared to rush toward a woman taking pictures of it in Yellowstone National Park, CBS Chicago reported at the time:

She was later sentenced to four days in jail for getting too close to the mama bear and her cubs. The woman was also ordered to pay $1,000 to a wildlife protection fund and banned from the park for a year.