The Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department initiated its annual fire ban on May 1.
The department now is taking additional steps to protect park visitors and resources due to the extremely dry conditions. Effective immediately, smoking in Maricopa Countyâs regional parks will be prohibited, except within an enclosed vehicle or at developed recreation sites such as parking lots and campsites. A date to lift the restrictions has not been established. That information will be provided when available.
The heightened restrictions come on the heels of recent wildfire activity within White Tank Mountain Regional Park and Cave Creek Regional Park boundaries. McDowell Mountain Regional Park is among the 11 parks in the county system to adopt the ban.
This is the last weekend to have fires in desert parks and mountain preserves in the city of Phoenix. A fire ban will go into effect May 1.
The city will ban fires in parks that have natural areas like hiking trails.
Parks Department spokesman Gregg Bach says the fire ban is necessary as wildfire season approaches.
He says low humidity, the increase in temperatures, dry vegetation and seasonal winds are all factors on why the fires are banned.
Bach says visitors can still use certain types of grills.
“We do have some established ramada and picnic areas, and so people would be able to use a propane or a gas grill in those designated picnic areas. But we’re prohibiting anything that would be an open wood or charcoal fire in those areas,” Bach said.
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