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Date: June 11, 2006
Contact: Nash, (307) 344-2010
Contact: Vallie, (307) 344-2012

A young boy from Utah was burned Saturday evening after falling into water from a recently erupted geyser in Yellowstone National Park.

The six year old is from South Jordan, Utah. The boy, his parents, and two older siblings had entered the park earlier in the day, pitched camp at Madison Campground, and then traveled to the Old Faithful area.

The family had just watched an eruption of Grand Geyser around 6:00 p.m. The boy was playing and walking along on the wet boardwalk when he slipped and fell into hot water runoff from nearby West Triplet Geyser, which had also recently erupted.

He was pulled from the water after suffering burns to his arms and legs. A park ranger was nearby and immediately summoned Old Faithful rangers who responded to the scene with an ambulance and paramedic. The boy was taken to the Old Faithful Clinic where his condition was stabilized. He was then transported by ambulance to the West Yellowstone, Montana airport and flown by fixed wing air ambulance to the Burn Center at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City. His current condition is unavailable.

The Utah boy is the first person to receive severe thermal burns this summer in Yellowstone National Park. Visitors are reminded to stay on boardwalks and designated trails and exercise caution as many thermal features are near or above boiling temperatures.

It is National Park Service policy not to release names of juvenile accident victims.