AMARILLO, TEXAS -- The Fourth of July meant people, parties and fireworks around the city of Amarillo and across the nation. That meant July fifth was reserved for celebration cleanup.
Thursday, crews with the Amarillo Parks and Recreation Department spent the day cleaning up the parks around town, particularly John S. Stiff Memorial Park where thousands of people gathered for a city-wide fireworks show. The stage originally set up for the Amarillo Symphony was successfully torn down and packed up by Thursday at noon. After that, crews continued picking up leftover trash and removing the portable restrooms from the park, officials said.
However, before Parks and Recreation employees could begin their cleanup, the Amarillo Fire Department also had to sweep through the park to check for any leftover hazardous material.
"The biggest thing as far as getting back into the park and opening it is to make sure it's safe for the public to get back in and therefore the fire department will do their natural sweep through the area to make sure there's some shells maybe that hadn't gone off in the firework display or any other type of hazard," explained Interim Parks & Recreation Director Rod Tweet.
John S. Stiff Park has been reopen. Tweet said crews should be finished cleaning it up by the end of the day Thursday.
Amarillo Police also had a busy night on the Fourth, Cpl. Jerry Neufeld told Pronews 7. Officers responded to several hundred calls for fireworks and issued 40 citations for individuals popping firecrackers inside city limits.
