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Woman in critical condition after jumping in Yellowstone hot spring trying to save dog

The woman, 20, suffered burns from her shoulders to feet in the incident at Maiden’s Grave Spring, which has temperatures of 200 degrees.
The Maiden's Grave Spring in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
The Maiden's Grave Spring in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.Jon G. Fuller / VWPics via AP Images

A woman who was burned while trying to save her dog from a 200-degree hot spring at Yellowstone National Park was in critical condition Wednesday, officials said.

The 20-year-old woman, who has not been identified by the park service, was injured Monday at Maiden’s Grave Spring and taken to a burn center.

The woman suffered burns "from her shoulders to feet," the park service said, and was taken to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center's burn center, where hospital officials said she was in critical condition late Wednesday.

Her dog jumped out of a car and into the spring, and the woman went in after it, park officials said. Her father was able to pull her from the thermal feature.

The animal was pulled out but later died, according to the park officials.

The park, which has seen more than 4 million visitors in most recent years, urged people to keep control of their pets and to exercise caution around Yellowstone's famously hot features.

Maiden’s Grave Spring is on the western side of the park.

In September, a 19-year-old park concessions worker was burned at Old Faithful. That woman suffered second- and third-degree burns on 5 percent of her body, the park said at the time.

There are around 10,000 hydrothermal features in Yellowstone, more than 500 of which are geysers, according to the park service. More than 20 people have died after entering or falling into hot springs there.