As Vulcan’s cast iron skin absorbed the summer heat, new cracks continued to form. Some of these cracks began to propagate to the point where pieces of the statue began to spall, or fall away, from the statue. This alarmed City officials who elected to close Vulcan Park to the public in March of 1999. On March 23, 1999 Sammy Wilson and Scott Howell scaled the statue and entered Vulcan’s interior through a small access hole in the head. They found a significant amount of deterioration in the bolts and fasteners – especially those at the junction between the left arm and the upper torso. On March 29, 1999 Robinson Iron recommended the removal of the statue from the pedestal as soon as possible. After an emergency declaration by the City in August of 1999, Robinson Iron was formally issued an order to remove the statue and store it in pieces within the confines of Vulcan Park.