By China Cassidy In late December of 2019, the Petrified Forest National Park announced that certain areas of the park would be closed for maintenance on some of the roads and bridges but would reopen at the end of March. Just five days before the park was expected to reopen, an executive order due to the COVID-19 outbreak prompted the park to shut its doors to all visitors until the order is lifted. Since the shutdown began, crews and volunteers at PFNP have been taking time to do some projects without the steady flow of visitors to work around. Although some employees do work from home, others are still making their rounds in the park. From scanning files to checking inventory, the shutdown has allowed for some areas to get a little extra attention. Measures are being taken to ensure that all safety and emergency equipment is up to par. The park has an onsite building warden who is responsible for checking all fire extinguishers, emergency medical equipment such as AED (defibrillator) and signs. Facilities are also being thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. Aside from the walls, floors, and seating in all facilities, crews are seeing that everything down to the doorknobs is clean and ready for visitors’ return when the order is lifted. There have also been various employees, as well as volunteers on site clearing out the garbage blown in by the heavy winds. The entire premises are being surveyed to record changes like rockslides and check on other petroglyph and archeological sites to ensure that they are in good condition as well as removing weeds from all over the park. Some areas of the park will even be getting an upgrade. Inside the Rainbow Forest, dampening panels have been added to help mitigate some of the sound issues they experience while playing videos. The lines of the parking lot will also be getting a new coat of paint while the park is clear of visitors. For anyone missing the beauty of the Petrified Forest, PFNP has compiled a collection of photos of the flowers at the park where new species can be seen each week. Get a glimpse of the parks 2020 Wildflower report, which can be accessed at https://www.nps.gov/pefo/learn/nature/wildflower-report-2020.htm.
