Debris Flow — Mesa, Colorado

2025-08-23 · near Gateway, Mesa, Colorado

Event narrative

At approximately 3:20 PM MDT, local law enforcement reported a rockfall between mile-markers 115 and 116 on Highway 141 in Unaweep Canyon, roughly 4 miles east of the town of Gateway. The Turner Gulch burn scar, which is adjacent to this location, experienced some heavy rain prior to this event. This did result in the need for the road to be cleaned, although no reports of the road being closed specifically due to this rockfall were received. Additionally, no reports of damages, injuries, or fatalities were received.

Wider weather episode

August 23rd marked the beginning of a push of unusually rich tropical moisture that would plague eastern Utah and western Colorado for the next week. At this point, much of the convective initiation was down to daytime heating on the complex terrain of the region. Heavy rain was not as widespread of a concern as it would be in the following days, but was still possible with stronger storms or in areas of training thunderstorms.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.7165, -108.9234)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1291490. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.