Lynnwood man sentenced for trespassing in Yellowstone National Park

A Washington man was sentenced to seven days in jail for entering a closed thermal spa area near Yellowstone National Park's most dangerous geyser to take a photo, the park announced Thursday.

After his prison sentence, Viktor Pyshniuk, 21, of Lynnwood, will have two years of unsupervised release and a two-year ban from the park, as well as a $1,550 fine, according to Yellowstone National Park .

On April 19, a park employee at Norris Geyser Basin on the southeast side of the park reported a person walking off the boardwalk. The employee took a photo of Pyshniuk, who had “clearly gone over the fence,” climbing a hill less than 20 feet from the Steamboat Geyser steam vent, according to the park. Pyshniuk told a Yellowstone National Park official that he left the boardwalk to take photos.

The officer showed Pyshniuk the signs indicating it is illegal to leave the boardwalk and explained the dangers of doing so, including mud pots, heated steam and water in an unpredictable geothermal area.

At sentencing June 4 in U.S. District Court in Wyoming, Magistrate Judge Stephanie Hambrick said the sentence was intended to both deter him and the public from leaving the boardwalk in this park area. She said others might have thought it was OK to leave the boardwalk after seeing him do so, and the 3-foot fence around the boardwalk makes it clear the area is closed, the park said.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming Eric Heimann said in a statement that trespassing in the park's thermal areas harms natural resources.

“In cases like this where we have strong evidence that a person willfully ignored signs and entered a closed spa area, federal prosecutors will seek significant penalties, including prison time,” he said. Heimann said.

Steamboat Geyser is a popular tourist destination in the park and is considered the most dangerous geyser, with erratic and unpredictable eruptions rising between six and 300 feet high. In recent years, Steamboat Geyser's eruptions have occurred at intervals of three to 89 days, depending on the park.

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