Date: June 2, 2008
Contact: Al Nash, 307-344-2015
Contact: Stacy Vallie, 307-344-2015
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Yellowstone National Park
P.O. Box 168
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2008 08-041
Al Nash or Stacy Vallie (307) 344-2015
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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK NEWS RELEASE
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AVALANCHES CAUSE NEW TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF BEARTOOTH HIGHWAY
Avalanches have prompted another temporary closure of the Beartooth Highway. It’s the second temporary closure of the road in less than a week.
The Beartooth Highway is the section of US-212 which links Red Lodge, Montana, with Cooke City, Silver Gate, and the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park.
The road was open intermittently over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. An avalanche on the Montana side of Beartooth Pass at mile marker 51 temporarily closed the road Tuesday evening, May 27.
While the road reopened to travel Saturday morning, two new slides in the same area last night have prompted another temporary closure of the highway.
The Beartooth Highway will remain closed from the lower gate south of Red Lodge to the Wyoming State Line until Montana Department of Transportation crews are able to assess and repair the latest damage. It is unknown when the road will reopen to travel.
Visitors can still travel from Red Lodge to Cooke City and the park’s northeast entrance by taking Montana Highways 308 and 72, and Wyoming Highways 120 and 296.
All park entrances and all roads inside Yellowstone National Park are open to travel.
Current Yellowstone National Park road information is available 24 hours a day by calling 307-344-2117. The Montana Department of Transportation Traveler Information hotline number is 800-226-7623.
- www.nps.gov/yell -
