With California’s consistent rain after the drought and 90-degree weather, millions of wildflowers are speculated to carpet the Anza-Borrego desert. Two years ago, the Borrego Springs were of millions of rare wildflowers, known as Flowergeddon. This rare occurrence caused tourists to prepare and watch the state’s largest park with around 630,000,000 acres of blooming flowers. During the last Flowergeddon, 250,000 to 500,000 visitors came to watch, traveling from Los Angeles and San Diego.

Betsy Knapp, the executive director of the Anza-Borrego Foundation, stated, “It was that first weekend in March 2017 that took us totally by surprise.”

The executive director, Bri Fordem added, “This time, there is a real sense of preparedness, people should feel comfortable coming here.”

Many restaurant owners made an increase in money, in about 45 days compared to the full-length year. Jim Dice, the reserve manager at the Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center, said, “Two years ago, we had an absolutely fantastic bloom, I don’t know if we’re going to meet that. It’s likely going to be a very good bloom, but a strong freeze right now could be very bad and a prolonged hot spell could hurt things.”

Andy Macuga, the owner of Carlee’s Restaurant and this year’s honorary mayor of Borrego Springs, included, “Now I think we may be overly prepared, I know I’ve hired more staff than ever out of fear. I’m hiring people non-stop. Do you have a pulse? Love you. Come on in.”

Park rangers, as well as the California Highway Patrol, have prepared to control the traffic in the area. Park officials plan to bring thousands of maps to direct the visitors to the fields, toilets, and restaurants. Park officials suggest planning their driving routes ahead of time. Other visitors expressed, “It was like amusement park lines and there was an amusement park feeling in the air, it never ended,” stated Thomas Hildebrandt, the executive chef-restaurant manager at Kesling’s Kitchen which opened during the super-bloom of 2017. The residents of Anza-Borrego hope that wildflower visitors will fall in love with the desert and visit throughout the year. Bri Fordem encouraged, “We want them to embrace the beauty of the desert and its lifestyle.”