City of Phoenix restricting park trailheads on Fourth of July

PHOENIX — Access will be restricted to trailheads located within the city of Phoenix’s desert parks and mountain preserves on the Fourth of July in order to reduce the potential for wildfires, according to the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department.

Beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday, entrance gates to the following areas will be closed:

• Camelback Mountain
• Deem Hills Recreation Area
• Papago Park
• Phoenix Mountains Park and Recreation Area
• Phoenix Mountains Preserve
• Phoenix Sonoran Preserve
• North Mountain Park
• Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area
• South Mountain Park Preserve

The upper lookouts within the South Mountain Park Preserve will also be closed beginning at 1 p.m.

In addition to the fire ban that went into effect for city parks and preserves on May 1, visitors are also prohibited from bringing glass beverage containers, alcohol or fireworks within park grounds on Independence Day.

The use of gas or propane grills will be permitted within parks until they close, but only within designated picnic areas.

On Tuesday, Tonto National Forest officials announced that most of the park would be closed from Thursday through the end of the month in an effort to limit fire risks.

More than 460,000 acres of land have burned in wildfires in Arizona this year, including 193,455 acres due to the Bush Fire — the fifth largest fire in the state’s history.

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