At the end of December, actor Pierce Brosnan was reported in Wyoming for violating bans on visits to Yellowstone National Park and entering protected thermal areas on the site. According to the criminal file published at the time, the 70-year-old is said to have been on foot and outside the hiking trails “in thermal areas and in Yellowstone Canyon” on November 1st. In doing so, he violated “blockages and usage restrictions” in two cases.
Brosnan himself pleaded “not guilty” at the beginning of January, according to a report in the New York Times, citing relevant documents from a federal court in the US state of Wyoming. According to the US broadcaster “KBZK”, the actor’s hearing, which was scheduled for January 23rd, has also been postponed and will now only take place on February 20th. However, it is unclear how the allegations against Brosnan came about. Brosnan’s attorney and the Wyoming Legal Office and the National Park Service declined to comment.
Hot springs, geysers or travertine terraces can be visited in the above-mentioned areas of Yellowstone National Park. However, leaving the marked hiking trails, bathing in the thermal springs and staying in the areas after dark is strictly prohibited by the park itself due to the danger. The soil could be “just a thin crust over boiling hot springs” and the pools could be acidic enough “to burn through boots,” according to the website. Brosnan defied these warnings and entered the areas anyway. Now two summonses await him, which are classified as minor crimes.
In recent years, there have been two incidents in the national park as a result of violating these rules, one of which was fatal. In 2016, a 23-year-old died after slipping and falling on the dirt paths surrounding the springs. In 2022, a drunk hiker suffered severe burns while hiking outside the designated zones in the thermal area.
Quelle: “The New York Times”
