Maricopa Parks prep for fire season
Staff Report ~ 6/9/2010

The Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department started its annual fire ban on June 1.
“The vegetation in the parks dried out quickly this spring and, not unlike previous years, this has left the parks with a large quantity of ground coverage that could easily catch fire,” said Maricopa County Supervisors’ Chairman Don Stapley.
“The fire ban includes the use of campfires, fire pits and charcoal grills. With the recent passage of House Bill 2246, the Fireworks Bill, we also want to make sure that the public knows that the use of ground and hand-held fireworks are also banned within park boundaries. However, it is still acceptable to use gas/propane grills in designated areas,” Stapley added.
A fire ban is initiated to limit the possibility of starting a brush fire, which could cause serious damage to the parks. Violation of this park rule, Rule 113, may result in a citation. A date to lift the fire ban has not been designated and will be determined by the amount of rain Maricopa County receives during the monsoon season.
There are ten Maricopa County parks that will be affected by the fire ban including Cave Creek Regional Park, Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area, Lake Pleasant Regional Park, and Adobe Dam Regional Park.
The other six include White Tank Mountain Regional Park, Buckeye Hills Regional Park, Estrella Mountain Regional Park (excludes turf area), San Tan Mountain Regional Park, Usery Mountain Regional Park and McDowell Mountain Regional Park.
Smoking in the parks is still permissible, but all park users are strongly encouraged to be responsible in their use and ensure that all cigarettes are properly extinguished and placed in trash receptacles.
For information regarding the fire ban, call the Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department at 602-506-2930, or visit www.maricopa.gov/parks.