Attack of the monster tumbleweeds

Associated Press

KENNEWICK – A little neighborhood on the edge of the Horse Heaven Hills has been attacked by tumbleweeds, some of them “as big as Buicks.”

Kim Taverniti-Martyn, a newcomer from Spokane, was transfixed by the sight.

“You should have seen them coming over the hills,” she said Tuesday. “It was like the attack of the killer tumbleweeds.”

The rolling Russian thistle skittered across the desert driven by 30 mph winds over the weekend, blocking driveways and doorways and piling up against fences.

“It was just like being snowed in – but it was tumbleweeds,” said Jim Aust, who has lived at the south end of Olympia Street for 26 years.

On Tuesday, city and county crews went after the giant tumbleweeds with fire, burning them up with propane torches and leaving a light layer of ash over the neighborhood.

“Some of these were as big as Buicks,” said Jill Raebel, whose home was among those beset.

Neither she nor neighbor Fred Rexus believes the problem is solved. They suspect that a fallow wheat field nearby has become a tumbleweed farm.

“The next wind and we are going to have a repeat,” Rexus said.

Others believe the tumbleweed population explosion is the result of a wildfire that cleared sagebrush from a large patch of land a few years ago, inviting the thistle to take root.

The battle against the prickly tumbleweeds is getting old, Aust said.

“They are obnoxious to handle,” said Aust, whose driveway has been charred by burn piles. “They break off in your hand. You almost have to wear welding gloves to keep them from penetrating.”

Kennewick City Councilman Paul Parish said there’s not a lot the council can do.

“It’s kind of an act of God thing,” he said.

The tumblin’ tumbleweeds of the windswept Columbia River Basin have bedeviled people at the nearby Hanford nuclear reservation for decades. Crews with pitchforks routinely round up truckloads of tumbleweeds – unless monitors indicate they are radioactive. Then, specially suited and trained workers are called in to dispose of the tumbleweeds. Fewer than 1 percent of the tumbleweeds at Hanford, the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site, show any radioactivity, officials said.

Russian thistle, which is not native to the Columbia Basin, is a particular problem at underground burial sites for radioactive waste, where the tap root can reach down as far as 20 feet and suck up such elements such as strontium and cesium.

But even the tumbleweeds that aren’t contaminated can be a nuisance, clogging stairwells and work sites.

Each winter, the plant’s tap root decays and the spiny skeleton breaks off and blows away. With a stiff winter wind, a tumbleweed can travel for miles before finding a place to settle.

Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Vernon Streeter looks over the fence at the Skykomish Substation operated by Puget Sound Energy on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 in Skykomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Doesn’t make any sense’: Skykomish residents decry increased outages

Community members are frustrated about power outages and a lack of communication from Puget Sound Energy.

Glacier Peak, elevation 10,541 feet, in the Glacier Peak Wilderness of Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest in Snohomish County, Washington. (Caleb Hutton / The Herald) 2019
2 years later, Glacier Peak seismometers delayed again

The U.S. Forest Service planned to install them in 2023. Now, officials are eyeing 2026.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks at the Snohomish & Island County Labor Council champions dinner on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Ferguson, WA Democrats prepare for new era of showdowns with Trump

Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson and Attorney General-elect Nick Brown are readying their legal teams.

Benson Boone (Photo provided by AEG Presents)
Monroe’s Benson Boone snags Grammy nomination for Best New Artist

The Monroe High grad this year has opened for Taylor Swift and won an MTV Video Music Award.

Lynnwood
Lynnwood caregiver accused of $674K check fraud

Prosecutors allege Sheila Saluquen defrauded the elderly owner of a car dealership for over a year.

Deborah Rumbaugh
‘Very hostile work environment’: Stanwood-Camano school supe resigns

Superintendent Deborah Rumbaugh said Tuesday she’ll be gone at the end of the school year.

A state Department of Transportation traffic camera from Highway 527 shows the aftermath of a school bus crash Wednesday afternoon on I-405. (Photo provided by the state Department of Transportation)
I-405 reopens after school bus crash blocked lanes in Bothell

The bus was carrying a girls soccer team from La Conner. No one on the bus was reported injured.

Flyers of support for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bob Ferguson. (Laurel Demkovich / Washington State Standard)
Somers, Liias among Snohomish County leaders on Ferguson transition team

Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson on Tuesday announced a 53-person team that will help with the transition from Gov. Jay Inslee.

The line for the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office extends around the Admin West building and onto Pacific Avenue Election Day as people wait for same-day registration, ballot issuance, and accessible voting services on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County voter turnout down from 2020

Meanwhile, local Republicans celebrated the national results. And Democrats applauded the local.

People board a bus at the Canyon Park Park & Ride Swift Green Line stop in Bothell, Washington on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Big changes ahead as Community Transit mulls $254M budget

As ridership increases, Community Transit is planning for more service, security and a lower-emission fleet.

Police believe a driver fled a traffic stop and crashed into five people Saturday morning in Everett. (Photo provided by the Everett Police Department)
3 killed in Everett crash identified

Everett police are seeking tips about the early Saturday morning crash.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 18 years for causing baby’s brain damage

Seven years after dropping his baby on a table, Joseph Bradley was sentenced late last month.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.