Downed tree branches and power lines will keep crews busy Tuesday after a late spring snowstorm barreled through Aspen and the Colorado mountains overnight.
Hundreds of trees in the upper valley lost branches or fell over, including a cottonwood tree on Hopkins Avenue near Aspen Street that landed on the house owned by Ruth Carver. It hit the roof right over her bed on the top floor, she said early Tuesday morning as she assessed the damage.
“The whole house shook and there was a terrible noise, a terrible crash coming from the roof,” Carver said. “I thought a bear fell off the roof. There’s bears here every night because we’re just a block from Restaurant Row.”
Snow totals in the area ranged from 3 to 5 inches in the upper valley. The Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory Monday afternoon calling for 3-6 inches above 9,000 feet.
Power outages were being reporting near Aspen and up the Fryingpan Valley near Reudi Reservoir. Aspen Fire Department crews responded to a downed tree on Maroon Creek Road that hit a powerline.
Weather forecast for later this week includes a high near 80 degrees by Friday.
This is a developing story that will be updated.