Tumbleweeds: Growing problem in Pueblo West
The never-ending image of tumbleweeds blowing across Pueblo West, barricading homeowners, may reach a new level this fall.
“The problem that we have in Pueblo West, especially this year, is that we’ve had a significant amount of rainfall and that has created a bumper crop of tumbleweeds,” said Dan Centa, director of public works for the Pueblo West Metropolitan District.
Centa said this year could be one of the worst years the district has ever seen. Crews have spent several months mowing fields in Pueblo West, trying to get a handle on the problem, but he admits that’s nearly impossible to do.
“The problem is that there are thousands of acres of range land that surrounds Pueblo West,” Centa said. “Every fall you have the tumbleweed by its nature dies back, breaks loose from the ground and then it’s designed to roll in the wind.”
Last year the tumbleweeds blocked Pueblo West resident Mike Gatlin from getting out of his front door.
“We had to come out the back,” Gatlin said.
Pueblo West Fire Chief Brian Caserta encourages homeowners to create a defensible space around their property. Those who decide they want to burn the weeds can pick up a burn permit at any of the fire stations in the district.
“Some of these weeds are the size of small dog houses and they break away and they certainly can pose a hazard to trapping you in your house as multiple weeds pile up due to the wind gust,” Caserta said.
As for Gatlin, he accepts that tumbleweeds come with living in rural southern Colorado and has found plenty of ways to deal with them.
“Some people burn ’em. Some people bag ’em. Some people drag ’em out in the wind and let them blow away and then they blow back the next time the wind switches,” Gatlin said. “So it’s just a never-ending battle.”
An early snowstorm could help the problem, Centa said, by breaking them down and holding them in place. Still, he said it’s important for people to protect their property.
“When that weed breaks off and starts tumbling, every time it rolls it’s depositing seeds,” Centa said. “And the thousands of seeds that are in one plant, let alone multiply by billions of tumbleweeds — it is problematic.”
