Highway 145 has reopened through San Miguel Canyon after Tuesday afternoon mudslides sent four to five-foot-wide boulders and four to five feet of mud across the roadway, also hospitalizing a male traveler.

The mudslides took place around 3:40 p.m. on the stretch of the highway between Specie Creek (west of Placerville) and Norwood Hill. The debris field was estimated to be roughly 250 feet wide.

While several recent mudslides around Colorado have left travelers unscathed, that wasn’t the case when it came to this series of mudslides, with a motorcyclist getting caught in the rocks and mud and carried about 60 feet off of the roadway. At last report, the motorcyclist was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital (presumably in Grand Junction), with injuries, though those injuries were believed to be non-life-threatening.

This situation serves as an important reminder that monsoon moisture is moving into Colorado, with the Colorado Department of Transportation urging drivers to prepare for flash flooding, mudslides, and reduced visibility.

STAY INFORMED: Get free Colorado news with our daily newsletter (Click here)