**UPDATED to include information supplied by Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday, July 5
A severe thunderstorm swept across the southern portion of Yellowstone National Park late Monday, uprooting trees and snarling traffic.
According to the park, no serious injuries were reported and disruptions to visitor services were minimal.
On Monday night, Dave Reeves, a guide for Yellowstone Tour Guides, told FTW Outdoors that trees were down between West Thumb and Canyon, and toward the South Entrance.
“I was at Lake Village and it was like a hurricane,” Reeves said. “We saw several trees falling, many trees blocking the road to the north and south. Destruction everywhere. It was pretty crazy!”
The park issued a news release Wednesday (July 5), stating that hundreds of trees had fallen “throughout the area including around the Lake Hotel, Lake Lodge, Lake Medical Clinic, Lake General Store, Lake employee housing areas and Bridge Bay Campground and marina.”
Park Superintendent Cam Sholly said, “Monday night’s storm event hit the Lake area very hard. The National Park Service team and our partners quickly stabilized the situation and got recovery efforts started immediately.”
Several buildings and vehicles were struck by trees. One building adjacent to the Lake Hotel was evacuated and “remains closed for cleanup and repairs.”
Power was restored to most affected areas Tuesday. But as of Wednesday, Bridge Bay Campground and marina were still without power.
The cleanup effort is expected to last into next week.
–Images courtesy of Dave Reeves