National Park Service crews are picking up the pieces on the National Mall after Thursday's storm affected about 25% of the park's trees.
Lead arborist Jason Gillis said the south side of the reflecting pool looked like a war zone when he got there.
"We brought crews in last night. We had support from adjacent parks as well as activating contractor support for first thing this morning, on an emergency contract," he said.
Though there was no damage done to the actual monuments, some national treasures did take a hit. Strong winds damaged some of the nation's beloved cherry trees.
"They've been around for so long and then to see all the damage that's been done, yeah it's a sad thing," Stacy Abbott said, who was visiting the mall from Dallas, Tex.
According to the National Park Service, the heaviest damage is between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
Perhaps most crushing was the damage done to the white Mulberry tree that predates the 1885 Washington monument dedication, and which had been lifted back up that very day after it was damaged during an earlier storm.
"For it to come back off the scaffolding and have some structural damage in the canopy, that was disappointing for me. The good news is the initial assessment is it's still viable for restoration," said Giillis.
Crews are now working around the clock to make sure the mall is safe enough for visitors.
"Limbs that are on the ground become tripping hazards," explained Gillis.
But time is also of the essence -- with Memorial Day right around the corner.
"Areas around the war memorials -- being that it's Memorial Day Weekend -- and there's a lots of ceremonies and events that are happening, those areas are going to be high traffic," said Gillis.
The good news -- with the nice weather back and the crews' hard work and determination, Gillis expects most of the cleanup will be done in time for Monday's celebrations.
The National Weather Service said Friday they had surveyed Washington D.C. - the tidal basin, National Mall, Southeast and Northeast - and said they determined there were not any certifiable tornadoes in The District on Thursday.
This, "despite brief rotation evident on multiple weather radars," NWS tweeted.
