Tumbleweeds take over Kansas town, blocking roads and piling over fences, photos show
Perhaps, you’ve seen a lone tumbleweed rolling across a dusty road in a country western cowboy movie. But what about a full-on tumbleweed invasion?
That’s what residents in Garden City, Kansas, woke up to find Monday morning.
Pictures show hundreds of tumbleweeds blocking roads, piling up over backyard fences and blown against houses.
“My husband was taking our dog outside this morning, and came in and said our backyard was being invaded by tumbleweeds,” Summer Garcia told McClatchy news group. “I went to look, and I was so shocked.”
Garcia said blustery winds have continued to blow the tumbleweeds through town.
Another photo by Carmen Morillo Hickman shows tumbleweeds blocking an alley — forming a wall that was taller than garbage dumpsters.
“That road is actually the alley behind my house,” Hickman told McClatchy. “We have an open field to the north of our neighborhood. The streets in my neighborhood are cul-de-sacs so the people that have fenced property against the open field are probably in worse shape.”
Hickman said the city is invaded with tumbleweeds every few years.
“We have a lot of wind and open spaces out here,” she said.
After all, the city has hosted a music festival for the past three decades aptly named the Tumbleweed Festival.
Tumbleweeds are the dead, dried up remnants of Russian thistle, an invasive species brought to the United States by pioneering immigrants in the 1870s, The Arizona Republic reported.
KAKE TV in Wichita, Kansas shared a photo of tumbleweeds blocking a road.
Other photos also show the tumbleweed invasion blocking roads.
Crews were out and about the city during the day using heavy equipment and large trucks to remove the tumbleweed from roads and backyards.
Even as the cleanup had started, residents still saw tumbleweeds blowing through town.
“It is so windy here though,” Garcia said. “I keep seeing tumbleweeds roll down the street in front of our house.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2019 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Tumbleweeds take over Kansas town, blocking roads and piling over fences, photos show."