Joshua Tree national park announces closure after trees destroyed amid shutdown

Maintenance and sanitation problems also reported 18 days after government shutdown furloughed the vast majority of park staff

A day after this story was published, the National Park Service announced that it had averted the closure by tapping revenues from recreation fees, and that campgrounds and entrance stations would be reopened on Thursday. In a press release, the NPS expressed thanks to volunteers "who provided basic sanitation at campgrounds and other closed areas during the lapse in appropriations".

For 17 days, a host of volunteers and a skeleton staff kept the trash cans and toilets from overflowing at Joshua Tree national park.