Hanover reflects on hailstorm one year later

It was a year ago this week — specifically, the evening of July 23, 2018 — when a hailstorm ravaged the small community of Hanover in southern El Paso County.

The storm caused widespread flooding, knocked out power by blowing down more than a dozen power poles and washed out a bridge on Old Pueblo Road, resulting in injuries to two volunteer firefighters when their vehicle crashed into the washout.

The hailstorm was one of three that caused significant damage in southern Colorado Springs and El Paso County last summer.

Here’s a look at the Old Pueblo Road bridge as of Wednesday.

KRDO NewsChannel 13 returned to Hanover to check on the damage repair and storm recovery process.

Officials have placed a traffic signal on either side of the bridge to limit traffic because the bridge is narrower and can safely handle only one lane of traffic at a time.

“Those signals just went up in the last month or so,” a driver said.

Last summer, workers installed a new, larger box culvert to improve drainage under the bridge, and there are plans to gradually improve the road surface over the bridge.

James Chapman, a battalion chief with the Hanover Fire Department, said he and his firefighters learned an important lesson after the storm.

“Our two guys who were injured weren’t wearing their seat belts,” he said. “That contributed greatly to their injuries. It taught us that policies and procedures exist for a reason. You never know when something unexpected will happen.”

Chapman said one of those firefighters has recovered from his injuries and moved out of state, while the other is still recovering.

“I’d never seen a storm like that one in my 20 years on the job,” he said.

Hanover Road, one of the main routes into the area, is in rough shape and is lined with numerous patched potholes after floodwaters covered parts of the road.
Nearly two dozen power poles broken by strong winds were replaced.

Hanover Fire Station No. 2 on Old Pueblo Road sustained damage that needed repair, including the truck in which the two injured firefighters crashed.

“Two other vehicles crashed into the washout before the firefighters arrived,” Chapman said. “The driver of one left the scene, and the other was taken to a hospital for treatment. We never heard how that driver is doing.”

Mike Overbay, a ranch hand, is still repairing barbed wire fencing a year later.

“We’ve repaired miles of it and there still are miles to go,” he said.

Some Hanover residents said they have only recently repaired damaged property or are still in the process of doing so.

“No, I haven’t recovered, and there’s still a lot to do,” said Char Smaldone. “It takes time because all the repair people were busy and still are. I remember being in the hallway with my dog, watching softball-sized hail come in.”

Ted Richards said he recently repaired $60,000 in damage to his property.

“I just finalized everything within the last week,” he said. “I lost a truck and had two roof repairs.”

Yet some residents said recovering from the hailstorm was easier than from the 117 Fire last spring, in which 24 homes were destroyed.