All roads leading out of town were blocked by falling boulders and raging rivers that saw houses lift off their foundations and float away.
Yellowstone National Park remains closed after massive flooding forced the evacuation of at least 10,000 tourists.
But no evacuation was more dramatic than this one: a pregnant woman there on vacation, whose mother went to great lengths to get her to safety.
Cassie and Brandon Tyson found themselves trapped in the national park on their “babymoon,” celebrating the impending birth of their first baby in eight weeks.
All roads leading out of town were blocked by falling boulders and raging rivers that saw houses lift off their foundations and float away.
“[Someone] said out loud to the entire cafe, he was like, ‘Whoever is in here, I just want y’all to know, both of the exits out of this town are completely covered in water or they’re just not there. So you’re not going to be able to get out for days, weeks or months,” Cassie told Inside Edition.
It was Cassie’s mom, Carole Martin, who came to the rescue. She arranged for a helicopter to lift her daughter and son-in-law out of harm’s way.
“They always call me when they have problems. We always figure it out together,” Martin said.
Seeing all the news reports coming out of Yellowstone spurred the concerned mom and soon-to-be grandma to action.
“When I looked at that, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is serious,’” Martin said.
Video shows the helicopter arriving to pick the couple up.
“I was honestly just in survival mode. I was just like, I have to get out of here,” Cassie said.
The helicopter picked them up in Gardiner, Montana, and flew them to the town of Bozeman. From there, they caught a regular flight home to Virginia.
It was not cheap — the chopper cost $1,200.
The couple was staying across the river from a home that fell into the raging river in a now-viral video.
The Park Service says the northern part of Yellowstone is likely to remain closed for a substantial amount of time due to the extent of the damage.
