Phoenix is implementing its annual open fire ban in the city’s desert parks and mountain preserves beginning next month.

The Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department will put the ban in effect starting Monday, May 1, the same day Maricopa County’s annual ban begins, according to a city release.

In consultation with the Phoenix Fire Department, smoking and charcoal fires are included in the ban “due to the extreme fire danger that the combination of low humidity, increased temperatures, excessive dry vegetation and frequent high winds create each spring,” city officials said in the release.

The ban applies to Camelback Mountain, Deem Hills Recreation Area, Lookout Mountain, Papago Park, Phoenix Mountains Park and Recreation Area, Phoenix Mountains Preserve, Phoenix Sonoran Preserve, North Mountain Park, Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area and South Mountain Park/Preserve.

The ban does not apply to the city's “flatland parks,” officials said.

The ban stipulates the following:

• Open wood and charcoal fires are prohibited.
• Propane or gas grills may be used, but only in established picnic areas.
• Smoking outside enclosed vehicles is prohibited year-round.
• Fireworks are prohibited year-round.

“Motorists traveling through or near Phoenix's desert parks and mountain preserves should use extreme care with smoking materials and dispose of those only in their vehicle's ash tray,” officials said.

Detailed information about Phoenix's 41,000-plus acres of desert parks and mountain preserves, and 200-plus miles of trails, is available at Phoenix.gov/Parks.