A birds-eye view of Yellowstone flooding damage

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — Shots from KSL-TV's Chopper 5 show the flooding in Yellowstone National Park and the power of Mother Nature.

The flooding in Yellowstone is massive, a road near Soda Butte Creek is one of dozens of spots where the rushing river was just too much.

Picnic tables at Pebble Creek Campground where people ate lunch just a few days ago are now surrounded by water and debris.

Seeing the damage just past Ice Box Canyon helps put into perspective how big some of the washouts are.

The gateway communities of Cooke City and Silver Gate are now cut off from the park — roads and bridges are gone.

Gardiner, Montana, may be the hardest hit town. That's where the Roosevelt Arch is, the original entrance to Yellowstone.

The arch is essentially an island now, cut off from the rest of the park.

It will take a lot of work to repair this damage and, in many places, the river has permanently moved meaning new roads will have to be built using new routes.

But there are signs of hope already forming. Chopper 5 captured video of gravel trucks on the move to begin repairs in some places.

Yellowstone is still Yellowstone, formed from past violent natural events.

This is just another chapter animals — and humans — will get used to.

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