Steamboat Geyser during a 2019 eruption/UC Berkeley, Mara Reed

A Washington state man who left a boardwalk to approach Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park has been sentenced to seven days in jail and fined $1,500.

According to a Justice Department release, Viktor Pyshniuk, 21 of Lynwood, Washington, also was placed on two years of unsupervised release and received a two-year ban from entering Yellowstone. He also was ordered to pay a $30 mandatory court processing fee and $20 special assessment.

According to court documents, a Yellowstone law enforcement officer was dispatched to the thermal area at Steamboat Geyser on April 19, 2024, after an on-duty park employee reported a person walking off the boardwalk at that location. The employee had taken a photo of the defendant who had clearly crossed over the fence and was walking up the hillside within 15-20 feet of Steamboat Geyser’s steam vent.

When contacted, Pyshniuk told the officer he left the boardwalk to take photos. While speaking with Pyshniuk, the officer showed him the signs posted throughout the area stating it is illegal to leave the boardwalk and 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 imposed the sentence on June 4. During sentencing she explained to the defendant that the sentence was designed to deter him, specifically, but also the public from leaving the boardwalk in this area. She expressed her concern that the defendant’s actions were seen by the people around him, and they 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 Acting United States Attorney 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 in the park 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 feet to 300 feet high. In the last four years, the intervals between eruptions ranged anywhere from three to 89 days according to the Yellowstone website.

Judge Hambrick also explained that the three-foot fencing around the boardwalk is a clear sign that the area is closed and prohibited from entering.