Out There: Stories from the Woods

By Christopher Miller

In June of 1972 central Pennsylvania was ravaged by Hurricane Agnes.

My parents would have been around 12 years old at the time, my grandparents between 40 and 50. Nothing was ever mentioned or talked about when it came to Agnes probably because it might not have affected them too much in Lehigh County.

Fifty years later, 2022, another part of the country was suffering their own tragic losses during a time when tourism is nearing its peak for the livelihood of thousands of residents in the bordering communities of Yellowstone National Park.

On June 12 around the Montana/IdahoWyoming border it started to rain. Buckets, barrels, whatever is a larger container for storing water, it was raining that plus some.

Torrential rainfall along with abnormally warm late-spring temperatures washed out roads, bridges, and towns along the northern end of Yellowstone National Park. In total, the snowmelt and rain triggered nearly a foot of water runoff that all had to go somewhere. Since gravity only works in one direction, the water had no place to run but down.

This event was historic, shattering records set more than 100 years ago in the area.

Climate data and scientists’ predictions are suggesting that these sorts of events will only begin to happen more frequently and will be brought on in cycles of long periods of dry conditions (which is only fuel for the wildfires), then brief moments of torrential rainfall and dangerous flash flooding.

This morning, the Director of the National Park Service and the Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park announced an initial $50 million for rebuilding projects primarily in the north-end of the park where much of the devastation occurred. The southern end, where Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic Spring and other natural features are located, were not left unscathed, but suffered less damage and will reopen this week for travelers.

More than 4.8 million people visited the park in 2021. For reference, that is more than 8 times the population of Wyoming (581,000 people).

The reason why this is so impactful to me is on a personal level. My wife and I love Yellowstone and have visited there a few times so far in our lives. We have driven these roads and have seen first-hand many of the locations that were impacted, and how single communities whose sole source of revenue is driven by tourism can be cut off from the rest of the world by destroyed infrastructure.

Like Agnes in 1972, the floods in southwestern Montana were something that displaced visitors and residents are not likely to forget for the rest of their lives.