Park spokesperson Dan Hottle says the asphalt looks like “soup”

Jul 11, 2014 11:35 GMT  ·  By

Yesterday, the National Park Service in the United States announced that part of the country's Yellowstone National Park had to be closed to the public after one of the access roads in this protected area had literally melted.

Information available in a press release on the National Park Service's official website says the access road in question measures about 3.3 miles (approximately 5.3 kilometers) in length.

The road is known as the Firehole Lake Drive, and it is basically a loop that goes by the Great Fountain Geyser, White Dome Geyser and Firehole Lake, the Service goes on to detail.

Specialists who have had the chance to examine the damaged road say that, as far as they could tell, the extreme melting was brought about by intense thermal activity just below the Firehole Lake Drive's surface.

Specifically, it appears that this access road in Yellowstone National Park overheated and started to melt after hot oil built up below it and eventually worked its way towards the surface and came in contact with the asphalt.

“Extreme heat from surrounding thermal areas has caused thick oil to bubble to the surface, damaging the blacktop and creating unsafe driving conditions on the popular, scenic road, located off the Grand Loop Road halfway between Old Faithful and Madison Junction in the park’s Lower Geyser Basin.”

“Firehole Lake Drive in Yellowstone National Park has been temporarily closed due to a damaged road surface. The 3.3-mile loop drive takes visitors past Great Fountain Geyser, White Dome Geyser and Firehole Lake,” the Service writes on its website.

By the looks of it, gravel in the proximity of the road was also affected by the hot oil to a considerable extent. In fact, it was Dan Hottle, a spokesperson for the Yellowstone National Park, who told the press that both the asphalt and the gravel were unrecognizable.

“It basically turned the asphalt into soup. It turned the gravel road into oatmeal,” park spokesperson Dan Hottle commented on the appearance of the area affected by the bubbling hot oil in a recent interview, as cited by Huffington Post.

For the time being, the folks in charge of running the Yellowstone National Park cannot provide any information concerning when the access road will reopen. However, they say that, all things considered, it will probably be at least a few days until workers manage to repair the damage.

“The road will remain closed for the next several days while maintenance crews make repairs. The date for reopening the road is uncertain at this time, and will be determined after crews assess the effectiveness of their efforts,” the National Park Service says.