Tumbleweed Stacks Up In Banning After Weekslong Storm

BANNING, CA—Waves of thunderstorms and rain slammed the Pass Area last week, and Banning's Public Works Department's Streets Crew cleaned up the roads—of mountains of tumbleweed.

City workers hauled away at least five dump truckloads full of the problematic plants on Thursday, Interim Street Superintendent Ruben Macias told Patch. Considering each truck holds seven cubic yards of space, that's a lot of weeds.

Banning residents are used to seeing tumbleweed blowing across the road this time of year. They appear in the spring and summer and die off in the winter, the dried balls rolling in the breeze. On Thursday, they accumulated into a wall of dead plants making driving hazardous, according to Macias.

The weeds blew from an open field and blocked at least one lane of Sunset Avenue near the train tracks, launching numerous requests for their removal.

"The tumbleweeds are seasonal and are everywhere in the unkept open lots, like those off Sunset," he said. "When the wind picked up, they tumbled across the road, blocked the sidewalk, and filled a lane, creating a hazard. We made a job of getting them out of there."

The city's Street Crew worked together on the removal, bringing out all the heavy equipment.

"We got the whole team together and used the front loader, dump trucks, pitchforks, and traffic control," Macias said. The loaders created huge balls of tumbleweed that they hauled into massive dump trucks and then hauled away.

According to the city, clearing debris and tumbleweed is a preventative measure to reduce potentially dangerous road conditions for drivers, especially during high wind advisories.

"The guys got it done," Macias said. "That was 35 cubic yards of tumbleweed waste we removed that day."

Read also:

Banning Public Works Keeps Traffic Moving Amid Rainstorm