Helena Syrovatkova Charged For Her Role In Tally Ho Fire

The Boulder County Sheriff's Office has charged a resident of unincorporated Boulder County for her role in the Tally Ho Trail Fire. The grass fire burned just under 10 acres south of the Twin Lakes neighborhood in Gunbarrel on April 19.

 Helena Syrovatkova, 48, has been charged with firing woods or prairie for causing the fire, which is a petty offense. Investigators said that Syrovatkova had lit a fire in a metal backyard fire pit the night before and she had extinguished it the same evening.

The next day, the day of the fire, she thought they were fully out and spread the ashes along the backyard fence of the property believing that the ashes would be good fertilizer. A short time later, she saw smoke and flames in the yard and tried to extinguish the fire. She also called for help.

Investigators "concluded that Ms. Syrovatkova's decision to spread the ashes was criminally negligent because it amounted to a gross deviation from the standard of care a reasonable person would have exercised under similar circumstances."

Multiple homes in the surrounding area were evacuated in "door-to-door" evacuations. Firefighters quickly gained control of the fire.

There were no structures lost and no injuries reported, however, some fences were destroyed.

The damage estimate from the fire is $20,000.