Burn ban applies to growth area

Monte Ritter told Mason County commissioners he lives in the Shelton Urban Growth Area “just outside the city limits” and has had trouble for years with his neighbors’ illegal burning.

People who live in an urban growth area “have to abide by the fire code as if you were in the city, not in the county,” Ritter said.

Shelton Fire Marshal Keith Reitz told the Journal outdoor burn bans in UGAs are state mandated “from a smoke management standpoint.”

Burning woody debris from cleared land is not allowed in UGAs, Reitz said.

The Olympic Regional Clean Air Agency designates UGAs and “all outdoor bur...