Yellowstone Offers Support for Namesake National Park Amidst Historic Flooding

Yellowstone is showing support for its namesake national park as it deals with the aftermath of unprecedented flooding.

Heavy rains and rapid snowmelt caused rivers to swell suddenly, swallowing homes and roadways, toppling utility grids, and forcing the evacuation of more than 10,000 visitors at Yellowstone National Park earlier this week.

On Tuesday evening, the National Park Service announced that the entire park will be closed at least through June 19 and that heavily damaged northern sections in Montana will likely remain shuttered for a "substantial length of time," fueling concerns from surrounding communities that rely financially on Yellowstone tourism.

Production on season five of the Paramount Network hit is currently underway more than 200 miles away in Missoula and the Bitterroot Valley. The team took to social media to offer support for their neighbors impacted by the "once-in-a-thousand-years event" and suggest a way for fans to help.

"Yellowstone National Park is an American treasure and our show's namesake," the show's official Twitter account wrote. "Please consider joining us in donating to the Red Lodge Area Community Foundation, who are currently on the ground providing disaster relief and helping with recovery efforts."

RLACF is raising funds for the Carbon County Disaster Relief Fund, which will help support emergency management and disaster relief in Carbon County, the Montana region which bore the brunt of the flooding. Donations will be used to support efforts to manage the flooding, affected individual and family emergency needs, and future recovery efforts.

"Our extended community has been deeply impacted as this is the worst natural disaster we have collectively endured," a statement on RLACF's website reads.

NPS/Doug Kraus

"But this same community is also resilient. Half the town showed up the first night to be a part of the sandbag brigade that saved portions of main street and prevented further breach into additional neighborhoods," the statement continues. "Such community extends beyond time and space and often includes the grace and kindness of those not immediately impacted.  Whether you experienced this devastating loss or just share a love for this sacred place, thank you for being a part of the vital web that is our shared humanity."

For more information and to help recovery efforts, visit rlacf.org.