"It's a miracle:" Woman says she's lucky to be alive after tornado touched down in Dodgeville

DODGEVILLE (WITI) -- The road to recovery continues after a tornado tore through Dodgeville last week. Betsy D'Angelo's home was destroyed. The massive storm may have left its mark on her property, but her spirits are sky high.

"I  don't know. I don't know how you explain these things. It's a miracle," D'Angelo said.

At least 1,000 trees are down on the property D'Angelo and her late husband built their home on decades ago.

Each of them miraculously dodged the house.

"When I opened the door there was this wall of gigantic trees," D'Angelo said.

D'Angelo says she wasn't trapped.

"We had trees right up against the walls and on the roof," D'Angelo said.

She says it took some effort to get out!

"I waited until daylight and I was then able to crawl through the trees," D'Angelo said.

That's when she saw just how bad things were. Her quiet home, tucked deep in the woods was now suddenly exposed for the first time ever.

"He kept saying 'I cannot believe your house is still standing. This doesn't make any sense to me,'" D'Angelo said.

Now dealing with thousands of dollars worth of damage and a forest taken out, D'Angelo says there's no good explanation on why she wasn't killed -- except her late husband and daughter protecting her.

"I think it was Cara and Charlie working really hard to keep me safe, to be honest," D'Angelo said.

Now left to clean up the mess, D'Angelo says she's hoping to sell off some of the timber.

"Yes, if that were to mean that I would get some money for that, that would be a huge help," D'Angelo said.

D'Angelo is finding the perks of the new landscape Mother Nature has pained her.

"That view I didnt have,and it truly was beautiful in the midst of all of this devastation," D'Angelo said.

If you're like D'Angelo and have a lot of downed trees but don't know exactly what to do with them -- the DNR is hosting a meeting on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. at the Dodgeville Service Center.