Torrential rain and melting snow caused a flood that forced the evacuation of parts of Yellowstone National Park, cutting off electricity and forcing the rare closure of all five entrances indefinitely as soon as the summer tourist season began. There were no immediate reports of injuries, although dozens of trapped campers had to be rescued by rafts in south-central Montana. “It’s a flood we’ve just never seen in our lives,” said Corey Motis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Billings, Montana. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:50 The road to the USA was destroyed by floods The images and video showed a landslide, a bridge washed up over a creek and roads severely damaged by the flood waters of the Gardner and Lamar rivers. As floods erupted in Montana, other extreme weather events raged in other parts of the country. Image: Extreme levels of flood danger were announced in Montana on Friday. Photo: Larry Mayer / The Billings Gazette via AP Image: A damaged bridge at Rescue Creek in Yellowstone National Park, Montana. Photo: National Park Service via AP More than 100 million Americans are being warned to stay indoors as the heatwave spreads across states that stretch from parts of the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes and east to the Carolina. The heatwave had already hit record high temperatures in the West before moving east. Meanwhile, parts of the usually green areas around Flagstaff, in northern Arizona, which should offer a break from the desert heat, were set on fire again this year, fueled by winds that stuck air services on Monday. Parts of a hillside burned so badly that its image resembled a volcano erupting. Image: A fire is burning on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Arizona. Photo: Jacob Hyden via AP Image: Arizona fire sparks over neighborhoods around Flagstaff Firefighters were expecting milder winds on Tuesday, hoping to help bring the blaze under control. The fire has largely saved homes so far, but has spread to a wildlife area and to a volcano with a lava dome. About 2,500 homes have been evacuated due to two fires burning on the outskirts of the city. Hundreds of other people in California and New Mexico have also been forced to flee their homes threatened by wildfires. Elsewhere in California, mudslides and debris forced the closure of nearly 50 miles of Highway 70 in Butte and Plumas County. Image: Nearly 50 miles of Highway 70 closed indefinitely in California. Photo: Caltrans via AP Mud, boulders and dead trees flooded the lanes during flash floods in the footsteps of Dixie’s genius last summer. Several drivers were rescued on Sunday afternoon from debris flowing on the highway when the hillside was burned naked by last year’s huge flame of 963,000 acres. Fires burn and remove vegetation and roots, which destabilizes the soil and prevents the soil from absorbing water. Scientists say climate change is responsible for more intense and more frequent extreme events such as storms, droughts, floods and fires, although isolated weather events usually cannot be directly linked to climate change without extensive study. Watch the Daily Climate Show at 15:30 Monday through Friday on Sky News, the Sky News website and app, on YouTube and Twitter. The show explores how global warming is changing our landscape and highlighting solutions to the crisis.
