A Washington state man was sentenced to a short jail term for going into an off-limits area at Yellowstone National Park.
Viktor Pyshniuk, 21, of Lynwood was sentenced to seven days in jail for thermal trespass at Steamboat Geyser in the Norris Geyser Basin in the park.
He was also placed on two years of unsupervised release and received a two-year ban from Yellowstone, according to a release.
The judge also ordered Pyshniuk to pay a $1,500 fine, $30 mandatory court processing fee and $20 special assessment.
A park employee called police to the thermal area after seeing Pyshniuk walking off the boardwalk. The park worker took a photo of him walking up the hillside within 15-20 feet of Steamboat Geyser's steam vent.
Pyshniuk told the officer he left the boardwalk to take photos.
The officer showed him the signs posted throughout the area stating it is illegal to leave the boardwalk. The officer explained that walking in a thermal area is very dangerous due to possible weak ground layer, the geothermal features of mud pots, heated steam and water, and all other dangers associated with walking in a heated, unpredictable geothermal area.
Magistrate Judge Stephanie A. Hambrick said the sentence was designed to deter him, specifically, but also the public from leaving the boardwalk.
She said other people watching Pyshniuk might have thought it was okay to do the same thing.
"Trespassing in closed, thermal areas of Yellowstone National Park is dangerous and harms the natural resource," said prosecutor Eric Heimann. "In cases like this one where we have strong evidence showing a person has willfully disregarded signs and entered a closed, thermal area, federal prosecutors will seek significant penalties, including jail time."
Steamboat Geyser is a prominent feature within Yellowstone and the world's tallest active geyser, but it is also the most dangerous.
It has erratic and unpredictable eruptions that can rise anywhere from six to 300 feet high. In the last four years, the intervals between eruptions ranged anywhere from three to 89 days.
