Update: Recovery Information

As residents affected by the 117 Fire that burned more than 40,000 acres in the Hanover area begin to return home and assess their personal needs, local nonprofits, El Paso County and El Paso County Public Health have resources that could be helpful in this time of need.

The 117 Fire was 100 percent contained late Thursday, April 19. There were 24 homes destroyed.

El Paso County Public Health recommends those re-entering their homes and beginning debris cleanup follow some important steps to remain safe:

  • Be sure you’ve had a tetanus shot within the last five (5) years
  • Wear protective gloves, long pants, boots and breathing protection when cleaning up after a fire
  • Supervise children and keep kids away from debris
  • Wash hands frequently
  • As power was turned off for long periods of time during the 117 Fire, all food that was in a refrigerator or freezer, other perishable food and any other food, including canned goods, that might have come in contact with chemicals should be thrown away

For more information about Fire Clean-Up and Re-entry Guidance, visit the El Paso County Public Health website.

Discover Goodwill will also be taking donations to help those affected by the fire. If you have items or money you’d like to donate, contact your local Goodwill and be sure to let the organization know that you want your donation earmarked for the 117 Fire relief effort.

Please be careful of scams. Be sure to verify anyone other than Goodwill soliciting donations.

Other Resources for those affected by the 117 Fire include:

Hanover Outreach Community Pantry: Will provide food and other needed items. Please contact Terry Siewiyumptewa (“Ms. Terry”) at 719-683-4611 or go to the Hanover Outreach Community Pantry Facebook page. If you would like to volunteer for the Hanover Outreach Community Pantry please let Ms. Terry know.

  • God’s Pantry Ministries: They will have someone on-site 24 hours until Monday, April 23 at 5 p.m. providing food/clothing and more. Go to 102 N. Main St., Fountain, CO, 80817 or call 719-382-0643; Hours are 8 a.m to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday.
  • American Red Cross: Call 719-785-2768 for immediate assistance and to speak with a caseworker for help with recovery from fire through Red Cross or other local resources 719-785-2768
  • Mexican Consulate in Denver: Mexican Nationals in the fire area can call 303-667-8657 to speak to the Mexican Consulate and receive further assistance
  • El Paso County: Go to www.elpasoco.com for a fire update and for information about all El Paso County services

Update: 4-20-18 11:50am

The fire is 100% contained and evacuations have been lifted.

Wildland hand crews, working together with firefighters, engines, and heavy equipment completed the containment line around the unsecured portions of the fire overnight.
Even though the fire is fully contained, as a safeguard, firefighters will continue to monitor containment lines and extinguish any hot spots observed near the perimeter.
Residents should expect to see blowing ash and occasional smoke from the interior of the fire area over the coming days.

Drone Intrusion: At 12:31 p.m. Thursday, April 19, 2018 firefighters observed an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (drone) operating within the restricted airspace above the Mile Marker 117 Fire. Planned air operations were immediately suspended and Law Enforcement was notified.
Flying a drone near firefighting aircraft not only poses a hazard to pilots, but when aircraft are grounded because of a violation of the TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction), the safety of firefighters on the ground is compromised, and firefighting aircraft are not available to protect homes and property.
A drone pilot found to be in violation could be convicted of a federal crime and be subject to substantial penalties.

Weather: Precipitation is expected over the fire area beginning Friday morning and continuing into the evening. Moisture accumulations of greater than one-half inch is forecast.

Update: 2 p.m.

ASSISTANCE

Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado will have food products for those affected by the fire.
Discover Goodwill will also be providing vouchers and gift cards for Goodwill Stores.
9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 21, at Hanover High School, 17050 S. Peyton Hwy., 80928.

Addition resources for fire relief include:

Hanover Outreach Community Pantry
Will provide food and other needed items. Please contact Terry Siewiyumptewa (“Ms. Terry”) at 719-683-4611 or go to the Hanover Outreach Community Pantry Facebook page. If you would like to volunteer for the Hanover Outreach Community Pantry please let Ms. Terry know.

God’s Pantry Ministries
They will have someone on-site 24 hours until Monday, April 23 at 5 p.m. providing food/clothing and more. Go to 102 N. Main St., Fountain, CO, 80817 or call 719-382-0643; Hours are 8 a.m to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday.

Red Cross Case Worker Hotline for recovery assistance: 719-785-2768

117 Fire Map 4-19-18

Black outline of fire shows Containment lines on the northern edges, red outline show where the fire is not contained. Winds will shift today and blow toward the north, pushing the fire back on itself.

Update: from 9 a.m. briefing from State Type 2 Incident Commander

The fire is 40,892 acres and 60% contained

Evacuations are still in place. Still an active fire.

Red Flag Warning today, wind 30-35 mph with gusts

Stage 2 Burn Ban (no outside burning)

300 crew members on the fire line today

150 pieces of equipment: fire engines, graders and dozers

3 – 4 helicopters from Fort Carson are availble

2 air tankers are available

Red Cross Case Worker Hotline for recovery assistance: 719-785-2768

(Red Cross Shelter to close at noon today.)

Fire Information:

Email: mm117fireinfo@gmail.com

Fire Info Line: 719-428-5223 (8 a.m.-8 p.m.)

Update: 8:30 a.m. Thursday, April 19

Incident command officially handed over to the State Type 2 team as of 6 a.m. this morning.

State Type 2 team will run the new briefings and put out updates. They have set up their own info lines.

Email: mm117fireinfo@gmail.com

Fire Info Line: 719-428-5223 (8 a.m.-8 p.m.)

A press conference is scheduled for 9 a.m.

The fire is 40,892 acres and 60% contained

117 Fire burn area map

Open or Download a full size map.

117 Fire Public Call Center Phone Number: 719-575-8888 (now closed)

Ready, Set, Go… http://rsg.epcsheriff.com/

Update: 8:00 p.m.

The Call Center is closed for the night.

Evacuations are still in place. Still an active fire.

Update: 5:00 p.m.

Containment: 25%

Homes Lost: 23 (7 were vacant)

Evacuations are still in place. Still an active fire.

Update: 1:30 p.m.

Sheriff Elder said in a 1 .p.m. news briefing that Incident Command of #117Fire has been handed over to a State Type-2 team … Commissioner Darryl Glenn added that will allow access to needed state and federal resources

Fire Containment: 5-10%

If you receive a solicitation for donations to people affected by the #117Fire, be sure to vet the organization before donating.

Update: 12:15 p.m.

Roads closed for fire operations.

Boone south bound at Sheer
Yoder south bound at Truckton
S Ellicott south bound at Squirrel Creek
Peyton Hwy south bound at Squirrel Creek

Update: 11:30 a.m.

(NOW CLOSED) HSPPR is closing the Norris Penrose Event Center livestock shelter. If evacuees need assistance with domesticated pets or livestock today, please call HSPPR dispatch at 719-302-8798.

Burn Area Map

117 Fire Area map 4-18-18 1

Update: 10:05 a.m.

Electric wires are still live in the evacuated and burned areas. Electric company is working to shut them off. We encourage people to remain evacuated.

Update: 9:40 a.m., Wednesday, April 18

Evacuations are still place.

This is an active fire.

For safe re-entry information, El Paso County Public Health has valuable information on its website.

Evacuation Map: colored areas are mandatory evacuations.

#117Fire Evacuation map

Update: 8:45 p.m., Tuesday, April 17

Evacuations for #117Fire, Hanover, will stay in place throughout the night. Evacuation information will be updated Wednesday morning as it becomes available. El Paso County Sheriff will provide an update on evacuations on Wednesday

Update: 4:15 p.m., Tuesday, April 17

Hashtag for the fire burning near Hanover: #117Fire.

El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has the incident command.

The Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) has been activated inside the County Office of Emergency Management.

Media staging is at PPIR.

For those who have been evacuated, a shelter has been set up at Fountain Valley Baptist Church in Fountain.