Man fined $1,000 for walking off path in Yellowstone National Park following death last week

National park officials aren’t messing around with safety fines after a man was killed by a geyser last week.

A witness reported to a Yellowstone Park ranger that a man walked on the terrace formations near Liberty Cap, collected thermal water and broke through the fragile travertine crust on Tuesday.

The witness had photos of the incident happening in the Mammoth Hot Springs thermal area.

The man, who was from China, admitted to park rangers that he had left the boardwalk and collected the water. He said he did not read the safety information given to him at the park entrance. He was issued a $1,000 fine.

The safety information tells visitors to not leave the boardwalk in thermal areas.

“Hot springs have injured or killed more people in Yellowstone than any other natural feature,” the park website states. “Keep your children close and make sure they understand the danger posed by boiling water.”

Colin Nathaniel Scott, 23, of Portland, slipped and fell in a hot spring near Porkchop Geyser in the Norris Geyser Basin on June 7. He was about 225 yards from the boardwalk.

And it was far from the first death due to the hot springs. There have been 22 known deaths related to thermal features in Yellowstone since 1890.

The $1,000 fine was larger than one issued to two men who put a bison calf in their car in May. The calf eventually had to be euthanized because the herd rejected it, and they were fined $735 for that incident.

This story was originally published June 16, 2016 at 10:56 AM with the headline "Man fined $1,000 for walking off path in Yellowstone National Park following death last week."