Update: Hanover grass fire human-caused

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office revealed Wednesday that someone, either accidentally or intentionally, started Tuesday’s grass fire that burned 13 acres in Hanover.

Lt. Jeff Kramer said there’s no indication that anyone was legally burning between Sagebrush and Storybook lanes where the fire burned between 2:30 and 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The Sheriff’s Office said that 67 homeowners were notified to evacuate through reverse 911 because of the fire. However, many of them said they didn’t evacuate because they saw the fire wasn’t threatening them. Evacuations were lifted by 6 p.m.

The month of June has become notorious for devastating wildfires in Southern Colorado.

“I’m telling you, right on time. It never seems to fail,” said Dave Ferrell, a Hanover resident.

Residents helped each other evacuate and kept a close eye on the windy conditions.

Another Hanover neighbor said the neighborhood had a smaller fire several weeks ago that was caused by a homeowner who was burning on his property and the the fire went out of control.