Charges pending against resident after grass fire forces evacuations in Gunbarrel

Boulder County Sheriff's Office
A small grass fire near Gunbarrel forced some neighborhood evacuations Tuesday, April 19, 2022.

A Boulder County woman is facing charges for her role in allegedly starting a 10-acre grass fire just outside of Gunbarrel on Tuesday. 

The woman is a resident of the area, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. The agency did not identify her, and the incident remains under investigation.

The fire ignited around 1 p.m. Tuesday on unincorporated county land next to Tally Ho Trail, the sheriff’s office said. 

Crews from 15 different local firefighting agencies responded and some residents in the nearby Twin Lakes neighborhood were evacuated. Fire crews quickly contained the fire, but it caused at least $5,000 worth of damage to nearby properties, the sheriff’s office said. 

The fire, which was left unnamed due to its small size, is the latest to spark in Boulder County in recent weeks, as the area continues to face dry and windy weather. 

Small wildfires have at times forced evacuation orders for residents north of Lyons and near the NCAR lab in Boulder. Air quality in the region has been poor due to smoke. 

Fire danger is forecast to remain elevated across much of the Front Range through at least Friday this week due to warm and windy weather, according to the National Weather Service.