PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 During extreme heat warnings, the city of Phoenix closes its trails.<\/p>\n
But on many occasions, people head out on hikes anyway, and sometimes they need to be rescued after getting overheated.<\/p>\n
As it stands, trail closure violators could face fines and community service for breaking the rules, but that typically doesn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n
Arizona\u2019s Family spoke with Phoenix Parks and Recreation Director Marty Whitfield<\/a>, along with leaders with the Phoenix Fire Department, who say they prefer to lead with education.<\/p>\n During the interview, Arizona\u2019s Family gave them some feedback from emergency crews about wanting to hold park goers more accountable when they break the rules. <\/p>\n It was clear that the standards for people who disobey the park rules will stay at a slap on the wrist. <\/p>\n \u201cWe work together trying to find new avenues. There are things that council brings to us that could help us,\u201d Phoenix Fire Assistant Chief Mark Gonzales<\/a> said. <\/p>\n Whitfield also responded, saying, \u201cWe reserve the right to issue citations, and over the years, it\u2019s a practice of ours to lead with education.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Whitfield and Gonzales stood firm on how they want to deal with people who break the rules at the trails and parks: lead with education. But is that enough?<\/p>\n When people ignore the trail closure signs and end up needing help, it\u2019s not only dangerous for the hikers but also for the crews who respond.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t you cite them after the fact?\u201d reporter Stephanie Duprey asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll circle back to, we go with education, and we don\u2019t want folks who are on our trails to be scared to call for help,\u201d Whitfield said. <\/p>\n What about other rules, like no dogs or staying on designated trails? We asked Whitfield what directives park rangers are given when it comes to handing out fines. <\/p>\n \u201cWe have a lot of visitors on our preserves all times of the year. It gets very hot, like it will next week, so it\u2019s about education. That\u2019s what we tell park rangers,\u201d Whitfield said. <\/p>\n Whitfield added that if any park employees or fire crews brought their concerns to him, he would be open to discussion. <\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n