June 23, 2025, 3:34 p.m. – We are responding to a brush fire in the West Glenwood Area. Donegan Road has been closed in both directions between Vista Drive and Sunny Acres Road. Please avoid this area for emergency responders.
Garfield County Emergency Communications Authority
June 23, 2025, 3:58 p.m. – Sunny Acres residents: Pre-evacuation has been lifted by the Glenwood Springs Police Department. The fire is contained.
June 23, 2025, 3:34 p.m. – Sunny Acres residents: Due to a fire, please prepare for possible evacuation orders issued by the Glenwood Springs Police Department. You will receive another message if evacuations are ordered.
Se ha levantado la evacuaciĂłn previa
23 de junio de 2025, 15:58 – Residentes de Sunny Acres: El Departamento de PolicĂa de Glenwood Springs ha levantado la orden de evacuaciĂłn. El incendio está contenido.
23 de junio de 2025, 15:34 – Residentes de Sunny Acres: Debido a un incendio, les pedimos que se preparen para posibles Ăłrdenes de evacuaciĂłn emitidas por el Departamento de PolicĂa de Glenwood Springs. Recibirán otro mensaje si se ordena la evacuaciĂłn.
June 20, 2:25 p.m. – There is an Xcel electric transmission outage affecting parts of Glenwood Springs and other parts of the valley. Xcel crews are aware and are working on bringing the system up as quickly as possible. There is no estimate at this time for power to be restored. Updates will be posted at cogs.us.
On June 18, 2025, the SPEAR task force, with the assistance of the Garfield County All Hazards Response Team (AHRT), executed a narcotics related search warrant at 513 West Ave. in the City of Rifle.
With elements of this case still open, we will hold off on some of the details but wanted the public to know there is no ongoing threat to the community.
SPEAR would like to thank the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office and the Rifle Police Department for their assistance.
SPEAR is a multi-jurisdictional task force based out of the Garfield County, comprised of local and federal law enforcement agencies. Anyone with information on criminal activity is encouraged to reach out to SPEAR through your local law enforcement agency or dispatch at 970 625-8095.
June 9, 2025, 3:23 p.m. – A power outage is planned for the Town of Parachute on June 10, 2025, from roughly 7 p.m. until June 11, 2025, at 6 a.m. The outage is needed while Xcel Energy replaces several utility poles and makes repairs as part of its wildfire mitigation program (WMP). Xcel has placed calls to affected homeowners and notified the town of the outage.
April 24, 2025, 10:10 a.m. – Interstate 70 eastbound lanes are closed near Glenwood Springs with detours in place for commuters. It is not known when the interstate will open for eastbound travelers. At approximately 8 a.m. a commercial vehicle hauling cattle crashed onto its side and blocked both eastbound lanes of traffic near Mile Point 116, just west of the Grand Avenue exit. For local traffic, I-70 eastbound remains open up to Exit 114, West Glenwood. Colorado Department of Transportation, Glenwood Springs Police, and other first responder agencies are on the scene.
Commuters are urged to proceed with caution along the detour routes listed below.
Northern alternate route
To use the northern alternate route, eastbound commuters will take Colorado Highway 13 in Rifle north to Craig. In Craig, turn east on US highway 40 to Steamboat Springs. Just outside of Steamboat Springs, take either CO 131 south and back on to I70 or US 40 and continue east.
Southern alternate route
To use the southern alternate route, eastbound motorists from the Grand Junction area can travel on US 50 US 285 through Gunnison, and continue to Denver and areas nearby. Note: Cottonwood Pass on CO 306 is still closed for the season and not a viable alternative route.
Glenwood Springs Police Department
April 24, 2025, 9:31 a.m. – Glenwood Springs Police Department: Exit 114 is open. Exit 116, all lanes remain closed due to an accident involving a semi carrying cattle. No estimated time of reopening. Detour in place north via Rifle CO-13 to Craig US-40 & South Clifton/Montrose US-50 to Leadville US-24.
Garfield County Emergency Communications Authority
April 24, 2025, 2:13 p.m. – Eastbound I-70 is open at Glenwood Springs.
April 24, 2025, 9:40 a.m. – Eastbound Interstate 70 remains closed at mile marker 114, West Glenwood exit, and has moved back to eastbound mile marker 116, the main Glenwood Springs exit.
April 24, 2025, 8:08 a.m. – Eastbound Interstate 70 is closed at mile marker 114, West Glenwood exit, due to an accident.
CDOT photo of avalanche debris covering US 6/ Loveland Pass from the Seven Sisters slide paths that was remotely triggered using Gazex Avalanche Control System on Tuesday, Feb 17, by CDOT teams.
Winter operations teams have safely triggered and cleared avalanche slide paths along I-70 through the mountain corridor following successive storms from last Thursday night through Tuesday morning. Measurements taken this morning on the summit of Vail Pass counted 28 inches of snow and 2.2 inches of snow water equivalent.
Those storms brought heavy accumulations of snow and high winds, which made for extreme conditions over long stretches of the Presidents Day weekend. With high volumes of car and truck travel, CDOT crews and law enforcement cleared vehicle spinouts, in addition to clearing roads of snow throughout the extended holiday weekend. Some periods of time saw short and intense bursts of snow that impeded visibility.
“Mother Nature did not take off for the holiday weekend. To the contrary, we saw some of the most intense snow totals of the season in the high country and multiple consecutive storms. Mountain Corridor ski resorts reported more than a foot and a half of fresh snow in 48 hours and more than four feet of snow in the past seven days. CDOT crews have been working around the clock to clear roads and mitigate avalanche risk, including a number of mitigation missions this morning. We remind drivers that conditions remain challenging. Please drive carefully through the tail end of this weather system, and watch out for snow plows and law enforcement who are working hard to keep the roads safe,” said CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew.
Every winter, CDOT and its sister agency, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), regularly monitor and control 278 of 522 known avalanche paths located above Colorado highways. These efforts help prevent avalanches from impacting motorists on the highways below. When there is a high risk of avalanche danger, CDOT will close the highway at the location of the avalanche path to conduct avalanche control. After the highway is closed, CDOT crews bring down the unstable snow from the mountain side and clear all snow and debris from the roadway before reopening the highway to traffic.
Four avalanche slide paths between the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel and the town of Silverthorne released debris onto the lanes of I-70 early this morning as crews performed mitigation missions. I-70 was briefly closed while these slides were triggered and crews cleared the road.
“The mitigation methods used in the early morning hours, before daylight, allowed our crews to work when traffic volumes are low,” said CDOT Director of Maintenance and Operations Shawn Smith. “This work is critical for keeping our roads safe, especially after the volume of snow we have seen over the past few days. We appreciate drivers’ patience as the team performs this important work of triggering avalanches and subsequent cleanup, which significantly reduces the risk of natural slides.”
“CAIC forecasters have been busy reading the snowpack for both backcountry users and Colorado highways,” said Ethan Greene, Director of the CAIC. “With avalanche danger rated as HIGH in the Northern Mountains, we’ve been diligent about communicating this danger to the public and working closely with CDOT maintenance crews.”
During a later morning mission, crews performed essential winter maintenance operations on Vail Pass, between Exit 180/ East Vail and Exit 195/ Copper Mountain, around 9 a.m. with five snowslides mitigation and one reaching the interstate lanes, as much as four feet deep and 175 feet in length.
Visit COtrip.org for the latest information on road closures and conditions.
Visit the Colorado Avalanche Information Center’s website, colorado.gov/avalanche, for avalanche forecasts.
CDOT map indicating accumulated snowfall seen throughout the state from Friday, Feb. 14, through Monday, Feb. 17.
Avalanche conditions are changing fast. This slide caught CAIC forecasters off guard earlier this week — before the huge storm that’s about to hit. While doing fieldwork on Vail Pass, they unintentionally triggered this large (D2) Persistent Slab avalanche on a 27-degree, wind-drifted, north-facing slope. The incoming storm will increase the avalanche danger to HIGH (4 of 5) in many places across the state.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) is warning backcountry travelers that the avalanche danger will rise to HIGH (4 of 5) over the Valentine’s Day and Presidents Day weekend, one of the busiest—and, historically, most dangerous—times of the season.
“We want people to enjoy a holiday weekend in the mountains, but they need to make sure their plan matches the avalanche danger, which will be higher than it has been in a month and a half,” said CAIC Director Ethan Greene.
A powerful storm is set to arrive Thursday night, bringing heavy snowfall and strong winds to the mountains through Saturday.
“Starting Friday, the avalanche danger will be HIGH in a lot of our mountains west of the Continental Divide,” said Greene. “We’re particularly concerned about avalanche accidents this weekend because portions of our snowpack are quite weak. We’ll see heavy snowfall after a fairly dry period, and lots of people will be heading into the backcountry to enjoy the holiday weekend.”
February is the deadliest month for avalanches in Colorado, and Valentine’s Day through Presidents Day weekend is the most dangerous period of the season. Over the past 10 years, eight people have died in avalanches between February 14-16.
“We expect natural avalanches this weekend, and people venturing into the backcountry will be able to trigger slides big enough to bury, injure, or kill them,” Greene warned. “And once the skies clear on Sunday, the chances of an accident will increase due to the nice weather, new snow, and dangerous avalanche conditions.”
CAIC assigns avalanche danger ratings using the North American Public Avalanche Danger Scale, ranging from LOW (Level 1) to EXTREME (Level 5). When conditions become particularly hazardous, CAIC issues Avalanche Watches and Warnings to alert the public. Additionally, Special Avalanche Advisories are released when a significant safety risk coincides with a high-traffic period, such as a major storm during a holiday weekend.
Backcountry travelers should take the following precautions:
Avoid avalanche-prone terrain during periods of heightened danger.
Always carry proper avalanche safety gear, including a transceiver, probe, and shovel — and know how to use them.
February is historically the deadliest month for avalanches in Colorado, with the highest concentration of fatalities occurring between February 13-16. Over the past 20 years, more than one-third of all February avalanche deaths have happened during this four-day period — nearly double the expected number if fatalities were evenly distributed throughout the month.
