DENVER (KDVR) — Across metro Denver, cleanup is underway after a late spring snowstorm sent branches, limbs and entire trees crashing to the ground. 

The storm provided an early morning wake-up call for Laura Rizzo’s family in south Denver.

“We heard a series of loud bangs a few minutes apart,” Rizzo said. “It was loud enough that I yelled and loud enough that the 2-year-old woke up like ‘mom, what’s going on?’” 

Saturday morning, the Rizzos opened the blinds to realize their honey locust tree had completely toppled, branches ending up just feet away from their 8-month-old’s nursery.

“It fell primarily onto the roof, and into the windows of our 8-month-old’s nursery,” she said. “So we’re really happy that he was safe and not hurt.”

Rizzo said they had the tree trimmed just a few years ago, and thought it was secure. 

David Boswell with Ross Tree Company says the timing of the storm made it a perfect storm for tree damage. 

“That wet heavy snow is going to collect in the canopy of the tree, causing catastrophic failure,” he said.

Boswell says his company had 30 to 40 calls by mid-morning, from Denver area homeowners needing branches and limbs removed. 

The Rizzos won’t know the full extent of the damage to their roof until the tree is cleared, but they’re taking it in stride.

“This does feel like a week or two late for this to happen, but it comes with the territory,” she said. “There’s a lot of great things about Colorado, and one of the less great things is May snowstorms that destroy trees in your neighborhood. But we can’t control it, so all we can do is control our response.”