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‘Large boulder the size of a small boulder’: San Miguel Sheriff celebrates five years since iconic tweet

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The San Miguel Sheriff’s Office is celebrating five years since an iconic social media post – and shouting out its author – on Monday.

On Jan. 27, 2020, a 10,000-pound boulder fell onto Highway 145 near Telluride, blocking the eastbound lane. Rockfall is not uncommon in Colorado’s high country, but the way the local sheriff’s office alerted the public to the closure would become a viral sensation.

“Large boulder the size of a small boulder is completely blocking east-bound lane,” the sheriff’s office wrote on what was still Twitter at the time.

Five years later, the sheriff’s office is celebrating 77 million impressions, 7 million engagements and nearly 300,000 “likes” on the viral tweet. Along with the impressive metrics, the agency shared photos of public information officer Susan Lilly, who penned the instant-classic post, alongside the large/small boulder.

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San Miguel Sheriff's Office public information officer Susan Lilly

Lilly, who has now been with the sheriff’s office for 11 years, according to her LinkedIn profile, talked to Denver7 right after the now-famous post. She told us it was a typo, and that the tweet was supposed to mention a large boulder the “size of a small car.”

The San Miguel Sheriff would return to internet fame in August of 2023, when Sheriff Bill Masters labeled people driving up a dangerous mountain pass as "ass clowns." Read that story here.

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