Hail Storm Creates Brisk Business For Auto Glass, Damage Shops

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4)- The severe thunderstorm that brought huge balls of hail to the Denver metro area and along the Front Range left behind hundreds of damaged vehicles. That's creating brisk business for auto glass replacement and dent repair facilities.

Safelite told CBS4 they're in "catastrophe" mode. The company has called technicians from all over the country to help service all the hail storm victims.

One center based in Lakewood set up an overflow lot for all the damaged vehicles. There were 80 vehicles scheduled for service on Tuesday and 90 scheduled for Wednesday.

"Very stressful. As you can see, the waiting room is packed and people are getting very unhappy but to me, you can't do anything. No one was preparing for this, it came out of nowhere," said hail victim Patrick Clark.

"As soon as I got here they were pulling cars in the shop. We've got maybe a dozen or more cars parked out here ready to go today. So, it's like nothing you ever see," said Safelite AutoGlass technician Daniel Tong.

Stevenson Toyota Lexus in Lakewood was hit hard by the storm. There are about 700 vehicles that will be assessed for damage.

The Colorado Mills mall was evacuated and closed on Monday during the storm when the ceiling started to leak and caused flooding in some stores. The mall remained closed on Tuesday.

An employee of Dick's Sporting Goods said much of the inventory inside the store is soaked, including shoes, clothing and guns.