One westbound lane remained closed Wednesday morning, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

The Paradise Fire started Tuesday afternoon, closing I-70 at mile marker 112 in South Canyon in Garfield County by 3:15 p.m. The Glenwood Springs Police Department said it started near the westbound lanes, but didn’t name a cause.

The fire eventually reached eight to 10 acres before crews brought it under control. Shortly after 4 p.m., the department said it had reached 20 acres, before revising that estimate down.

By late afternoon, about 44 firefighters worked to knock down flames in the canyon’s steep and rocky terrain, the department said.

Police said multiple agencies assisted with the response, including the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit, Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, Colorado River Fire Rescue, Garfield County Emergency Communications Authority, Garfield County Sheriff’s Office and the Colorado Department of Transportation.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

The crash occurred around 9:46 a.m., when the driver drifted to the right side of the road and overcorrected. The car then rotated left into the center median before striking the guardrail and rolling over, state patrol said. The driver, a 34-year-old man, is in critical condition, authorities said, while a 47-year-old passenger has serious injuries.

As of 2:26 p.m., the eastbound lanes of I-70 had reopened between Horizon Drive near Clifton and Cameo, . The state patrol first announced the closure at 11:44 a.m. on social media.

showed a car that had come to rest on its side in the grassy median, partially propped up by the metal rail separating traffic on I-70.

Colorado State Patrol troopers responded just after 2 a.m. Wednesday to a single-vehicle rollover crash involving a fuel tanker west of Golden on I-70, according to a news release from the agency.

The tanker went off the right shoulder of the highway and rolled onto its side, state patrol officials said. The driver, a 27-year-old man from Denver, was not injured.

As of 9:20 a.m., had reopened between Exit 259 for Morrison Road near Lakewood and Exit 256 for Lookout Mountain near Golden, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Another closure of the for “safety concerns” had also been lifted at that time.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact Colorado State Patrol Dispatch at 303-239-4501 and reference case number 1A261565.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Rayshawn Cox, 32, was cited on suspicion of careless driving resulting in death and two counts of careless driving causing serious bodily injury, Wheat Ridge police spokesperson Alex Rose said.

The and seriously injured another driver and a passenger in the truck. Cox also suffered serious injuries. He and his passenger have been released from the hospital.

The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office on Tuesday said the agency will not release the name of the person killed “for the foreseeable future” in order to respect the family’s wishes.

The crash happened on eastbound I-70 just west of Kipling Street at 2:40 a.m. Saturday, according to police.

Investigators determined Cox was driving east when he fell asleep, department officials said Tuesday. The truck landed on its side across the highway with the black undercarriage facing west, toward eastbound traffic.

The truck was not heavy enough to require a commercial driver’s license, Wheat Ridge police said.

The investigation is ongoing, and “more evidence may come to light that could warrant additional charges,” the department said.

Cox’s next court date was not available Tuesday.

just before 3 p.m. Saturday, hours after the early-morning crash involving a semi-truck and four other vehicles, according to the police department.

Officers responded to the fatal crash between Ward Road and Kipling Street at 2:40 a.m., police said. An 18-year-old man was killed in the crash, and three people were taken to the hospital with injuries that are serious but not believed to be life-threatening, police spokesperson Alex Rose said.

The man killed in the crash will be identified by the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office.

The crash is under investigation, and additional details about what caused the crash were not available Sunday, Rose said.

Roughly 437,000 travelers are expected to take off from Denver International Airport between Thursday and Tuesday, according to a news release from the airport. That����ap a 2% decrease from the same holiday weekend in 2025, airport officials said.

The busiest travel days will be Thursday, Friday and Monday, airport officials said in the release. More than 80,000 passengers are expected to pass through the airport����ap security checkpoints on each of those days.

Despite the small dip in anticipated travelers, Denver remains the ninth most popular destination in the U.S. for Memorial Day, behind Orlando, Seattle, New York, Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco, Anchorage and Chicago, according to data from AAA.

Americans overall are expected to travel at record numbers, with 45 million taking trips of at least 50 miles from home, including more than 39 million by car and nearly 3.7 million by plane, . Those estimates are both slightly higher than 2025 and, together, are a 5% jump from 2019 levels, the report stated.

“Despite all the headwind you think would weigh against it, Americans are traveling,” AAA spokesperson Skyler McKinley said.

While AAA doesn’t break down state-level travel data, officials said in-state traffic over the holiday weekend could “easily surpass” historical averages, especially in the mountains. Drivers headed to the mountains on Interstate 70 are advised to travel before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m. on both Friday and Monday.

Last year, traffic peaked at the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel at 4 p.m. Friday, with more than 2,000 cars pushing through the tunnel each hour; noon Saturday, with roughly 2,000 cars an hour; and 1 p.m. Monday, with more than 2,500 cars per hour, according to state transportation officials. On average, 151,000 vehicles travel into Colorado’s mountains for the holiday weekend.

“Memorial Day is historically quiet in between winter and summer tourism seasons, but a low 2026 snowpack means more access in Colorado’s high country,” CDOT Director of Maintenance and Operations Shawn Smith . “We anticipate this increased accessibility will entice a much higher volume of motorists into the mountains than we typically see.”

On the Front Range, drivers can expect to see the heaviest traffic on northbound Interstate 25 between Denver and Fort Collins at around 5 p.m. Monday, with the drive taking up to 1 hour and 47 minutes.

“It won’t be bonkers out there, but it will be busy,” McKinley said.

, CDOT’s traffic operations manager, said Memorial Day usually sits in the middle of “mud season,” where the snow from winter has partially melted, but popular areas haven’t quite dried out.

“This year, it����ap a little bit different because we haven’t had a lot of snow, we haven’t had a lot of moisture,” he said. “So we think that there’ll be a few more people than normal headed up the corridor. … Take your time, and pack your patience.”

To account for the increased traffic, the department plans to suspend all statewide construction and maintenance projects between Friday afternoon and Tuesday morning, according to the release.

The worst congestion is expected on Floyd Hill, where the highway goes from three lanes to two, and approaching the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel.

“Memorial Day travel is still reaching record levels, but with the smallest year-over-year increase in more than a decade,” AAA spokesperson Tiffany Wright stated in the report. “Although travel demand remains strong, higher fuel prices and persistent inflation may cause some travelers to shorten trips, delay plans, or stay closer to home.”

Colorado generally follows the national pattern for when traffic is the heaviest on holiday weekends, McKinley said.

AAA’s national data shows the worst times to drive — because of heavy congestion anticipated on roadways — will fall between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Other heavy traffic periods will include:

• 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, May 21
• 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, May 22
• 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 23
• 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, May 25

For those traveling through DIA, security wait times can change quickly and often peak between 3 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. and between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., according to airport officials.

“Passengers are encouraged to check TSA security wait times at and to arrive inside the airport at least two hours before their boarding time to ensure they have plenty of time to check bags, travel through security and arrive at their gate,” officials stated in the release.

Travelers can also check and online before they arrive at the airport.

The lowest price reported in the Denver area was $4.29 in Littleton in the morning.

“But even that station’s likely to go up here soon,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, an app that helps drivers find the cheapest gas.

The highest price for gas on Monday in Colorado was $5.39 in Carbondale, De Haan said.

The Memorial Day weekend could add to the increases, according to GasBuddy.

De Haan attributed the string of $4.99 prices across the metro area to a tendency to follow the leader, both when prices go up and start dropping again.

The search for the best deals has gotten more challenging since the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran started Feb. 28. Oil prices began surging and exceeding $100 a barrel when Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz. About 20% of the world’s global oil supply flows through the strait.

Oil prices have increased as fighting and threats of more strikes have intensified and have dropped when negotiations and proposed agreements are announced.

“Oil markets don’t like turmoil, and turmoil raises risk,” said De Haan.

A recent temporary shutdown caused by a power outage at the Suncor Energy oil refinery in Commerce City also helped nudge up prices, De Haan said. Suncor is the only refinery in Colorado.

The lowest gas price on Sunday in the Denver area was $4.05 per gallon and the most expensive was $4.99, according to GasBuddy. The lowest price in the state was $3.99 a gallon while the highest was $6.29.

While steep, De Haan said $6.29 is about $2 below the highest prices in the country.

Average gasoline prices in Denver have risen 35.3 cents a gallon in the last week, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 844 stations. Prices in Denver are 80.6 cents higher than a month ago and $1.59 a gallon higher than a year ago, GasBuddy said.

Colorado AAA said the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in the state is $4.66, spokesman Skyler McKinley said.

“It is climbing. I anticipate tomorrow we’ll see a pretty steady jump up” ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, McKinley said.

McKinley recommended that people worried about gas prices should fill up before they head to the mountains.

“If you’re headed out for Memorial Day, you’re always going to find the best prices, the most competitive prices on the Front Range where there’s a ton of competition,” he said.

McKinley said drivers should avoid filling up on Interstate 70 or U.S. 285 if they can. “You’ll generally find cheaper prices at service stations that aren’t immediately adjacent to the highway.”

Asked about concerns over price-gouging, McKinley said, “Anyone who thinks that price-gouging is going on should walk into a convenience store at a gas station and ask how the margins work. Gas is a low-margin item.”

The Colorado Better Business Bureau said in an email that it has received only a handful of customer reviews and complaints about gas stations, but not necessarily regarding gas prices.

Oil companies have reported higher profits since the Iran war started. British oil giant BP said it more than doubled its profits in the first three months of this year over last year, TotalEnergies, based in Paris, raised its dividends and doubled its share buybacks after announcing $5.4 billion in net profits for the first quarter.

Snow expected to fall in Colorado’s mountains between 6 a.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Thursday, , included:

• 3 inches in Conifer, with up to 5 inches possible
• 4 inches in Estes Park, with up to 9 inches possible
• 7 inches in Georgetown, with up to 14 inches possible
• 8 inches in Winter Park, with up to 12 inches possible
• 9 inches in Nederland, with up to 13 inches possible
• 10 inches on Cameron Pass and Milner Pass in Rocky Mountain National Park, with up to 20 inches possible
• 11 inches in Allenspark, with up to 14 inches possible
• 11 inches on Loveland Pass, with up to 17 inches possible
• 13 inches in Eldora, with up to 16 inches possible
• 14 inches on Berthoud Pass, with up to 21 inches possible

Heavy snow will fall on the Interstate 70 mountain corridor between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday, including at the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel and on Vail Pass, . Snow-covered roads and low visibility will create hazardous travel conditions, forecasters said.

A will be in effect for parts of Boulder, Grand, Jackson and Larimer counties in northern Colorado until 9 p.m. Monday, according to the weather service.

“If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency,” forecasters stated in the warning.

Separate will also be in effect until 9 p.m. Monday for Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Grand, Jackson, Park and Summit counties. The advisories are a , but also warn of dangerous travel conditions and heavy snow.

No snow is expected to accumulate in Denver on Monday, but the metro area could see trace amounts if the storm is stronger than anticipated, according to the weather service. On the high end of the forecast, the southern metro area may see up to one-half of an inch of snowfall.

Rain is forecast for the Denver area throughout the day on Monday, according to the weather service. If snow does fall, it will likely happen between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., .

Snow is likely in the mountains through early Tuesday morning, after which the storm will pause and resume Wednesday afternoon, . The second wave of is expected to continue into early Thursday morning.

Troopers responded to the two-vehicle crash on westbound I-70 near mile 203, west of Frisco, at 9:39 p.m., agency officials said in a news release.

The Jeep driver died at the scene and will be identified by the Summit County Coroner’s Office. The driver of the Peterbilt, a 42-year-old Thornton man, was not injured.

CSP’s Vehicular Crimes Unit is investigating the crash. Anyone who witnessed the crash and hasn’t talked to investigators may call state patrol dispatch at 303-239-4501 and reference case VC260141.

As of 10:30 a.m., eastbound I-70 had reopened between Exit 180 for East Vail and Exit 190 for the summit of Vail Pass, .

at 8:30 a.m. showed snow-covered roads and falling flurries on the empty interstate.

Two semitrailers jacknifed, blocking all lanes of eastbound I-70 near milepost 185, Colorado State Patrol spokesperson Hunter Mathews said.

“This call came in as a motorist assist, which suggests no damage,” Mathews said.

Accumulating snow is expected to fall along the I-70 mountain corridor through 3 p.m. Wednesday, . Light flurries will continue into the night, forecasters said.

This is a developing story and may be updated.