Western Slope residents are cleaning up after recent mudslides, caused by a slow-moving storm system, blocked roads, stranded people and swamped classrooms and a historic theater.
The regular rain showers have been helpful relief for drought in western Colorado, but the slow pace of the storm elevated the risk of flash flooding and resulting debris flows and mudslides, especially in burn scar areas. The storm system will reach the Front Range and Eastern Plains this week, and with major fires still burning in the state, meteorologists are warning Coloradans to check the weather report before venturing out.
“With chances of heavy rain showers and thunderstorms every day, that’s going to be a risk pretty much every day, unfortunately,” said Cameron Simcoe, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Pueblo.
In western Colorado, a thunderstorm triggered at least three major mudslides Thursday on East Portal road and campground at Curecanti National Recreation Area near Gunnison, according to a Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park news release Friday.
The slides temporarily stranded 21 people, and some parts of the road were covered with 6 feet of boulders, rocks and mud. The road passes through forested areas burned by the 2025 South Rim Fire, the release said.
“The campground, picnic area, and the East Portal Road will be closed until assessments and repairs can be completed and all facilities are safe for public access,” the release said. “Those assessments and repairs are underway.”
The national recreation area could not be reached for comment Sunday.
On Friday and Saturday, storms triggered more slides in and around Telluride. Muddy water and debris covered parts of the town’s main street and flooded classrooms in the Telluride Intermediate School. Nearly 4 feet of water filled the Michael D. Palm Theatre, a well-known venue for events like the Telluride Film Festival, said Susan Lilly, spokesperson for the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office.
“Everybody knows about the Palm Theatre, and it’s a local treasure,” she said. “It’s devastating that it took such a hit.”
The slide areas were not part of a burn scar, Lilly said. Residents have started cleaning up the town’s streets and around houses on its western side.
Other mudslides swept over Highway 145, temporarily closing the busy road for commuters traveling between Ridgway, Cortez, Telluride and smaller nearby communities, Lilly said.
“There were people actually in the middle of some of the smaller mud slides and the bigger one,” she said. “Deputies have to assist them getting out of that quagmire.”
The highway reopened later Saturday night and remained open Sunday, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation’s COTrip map. CDOT could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Keep an eye on the forecast
The high-pressure system that has hovered over the Western Slope for days is slowly making its way northeast, according to the National Weather Service.
Over the last week, the weather system has brought monsoonal moisture up from the south. With daytime heat and more moisture in the atmosphere, thunderstorms and showers have been forming in the afternoons and dropping rain on the high country and valleys, almost like clockwork.
For the Western Slope, it’ll be more of the same over the next week, said Tom Renwick, a NWS meteorologist in Grand Junction. Most of the region will continue to see daily afternoon showers through Friday.
“That’s good news, but it’s also sort of bad news,” he said.
The rain will help the Western Slope, which continues to report drought conditions including large areas of exceptional drought. But if the storms move slowly over burn scars, they will also increase the risk of more flash flooding and debris flows, Renwick said.
Southwestern Colorado, which includes the Aspen Acres fire area, will start to see regular afternoon showers and thunderstorms starting Tuesday and continuing to Sunday, Simcoe said.
They’ll be watching their entire region for flash flooding, but particularly the Aspen Acres area, he said. People should regularly check the weather forecast and pay attention to flash flood watches and warnings.
Northern Colorado, unlike the Western Slope, has been sitting under a heat dome for the past several days, said David Barjenbruch, a NWS meteorologist in Boulder. Higher elevations might see sprinkles or some scattered showers until Wednesday, when heavier rain will cross the region bringing some flash flood threats with it.
“We’ll have more active weather and thunderstorms finally returning,” Barjenbruch said. “That will provide some sort of relief to the heat as well.”
He is keeping an eye on flash flood risks in some northern Colorado burn scar areas, like parts of the 2020 Cameron Peak burn scar north of Glen Haven, the 2024 Alexander Mountain burn scar north of Drake, and the 2020 East Troublesome burn scar northwest of Granby.
Burn scars are more sensitive to rain than other areas. When wildfires move across landscapes, they destroy the shrubs, grasses and plant litter that help break up the intensity of rain storms. In severe, slow-moving fires, the burning plant matter also creates a gas that penetrates the soil. As it cools, the gas condenses and forms a waxy coating that repels water, according to Colorado State University.
Coloradans should also pay attention when they’re in burn scars from recent fires. While hydrophobic soils don’t form with every fire, the repellant effect can last for anywhere from two to three months to multiple years, depending on factors like fire behavior, temperatures, and types of soils and plants.
“If anybody is going to be near or around where burn scars are, they really need to pay attention to the weather,” Renwick said. “Burn scars, they don’t need anywhere near as much rain to cause a flash flood.”