Update: Pierce Brosnan pleaded not guilty to trespassing in a thermal area at Yellowstone National Park on 17 January. A hearing is now scheduled for 20 February. Original story continues below.
Pierce Brosnan has been accused of straying from the trails in Yellowstone National Park, and reports claim he will appear in court later this month to answer charges.
CNN says it has seen court documents calling Brosnan to appear at the Yellowstone Justice Center on January 23. It says the charges against the actor, outlined in a docket filed in the US District Court in Wyoming, are “foot travel in all thermal areas and w/in Yellowstone Canyon confined to trails” and “violating closures and use limits”.
Although Yellowstone has a reputation for bears, bison and other potentially dangerous creatures, the greatest number of deaths in the park has come from people suffering accidents in hot springs and other thermal areas, where steam venting through fissures in the ground can reach temperatures as high as 275°F (135°C).
Warnings on the Yellowstone website state: “If you step off the boardwalk and onto the [geothermal] crust, not only are you disrupting the delicate thermal formation, but you will be seriously, or fatally injured.”
Visitors to Yellowstone who’ve been convicted of similar offenses to those Brosnan is accused of have faced short jail terms and hefty fines.
More than 20 people have died at Yellowstone from intentionally entering or falling into hot springs, which hit highs of about 198°F (92°C) - the boiling point of water at Yellowstone’s average altitude. The high temperatures are caused by the Yellowstone Hot Spot, a volcanic hotspot under the region, which is responsible for volcanic activity in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming.
Due to its size and location - at the intersection of the states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, Yellowstone has its own jail and courthouse. Yosemite in Nevada is the only other US national park to have its own jail.
Mr Brosnan's publicist did not respond to requests for comment.
