Senior citizen’s home is buried under a 15ft mountain of tumbleweed after thousands of the weeds were blown into his garden by 60mph winds in Washington
- Dick Wilde, 73, pleaded for help from locals to clear thousands of tumbleweeds
- Home in Kennewick, Washington, was surrounded by the piles of dry weeds
- A combination of strong 60mph winds and dry weather led to them being blown
A senior citizen’s home has been buried under a 15ft mountain of tumbleweed after strong 60mph winds led to them being blown into his garden.
Dick Wilde, 73, was shocked to discover huge balls of weeds from nearby wheat fields surrounding his home in Kennewick, Washington.
Dry weather and winds led to tumbleweed being blown right across the town – and will take more than a week to clear.
Mr Wilde has pleaded for help from locals to clear them after they are at risk of catching ablaze.
A senior citizen’s home has been buried under a 15ft mountain of tumbleweed – which will take more than a week to clear in Kennewick, Washington
Unfortunately for retired nuclear engineer, his house is located upwind meaning the weeds have stacked up in his garden.
And he said he’s going to have to put in around 20 hours of hard labour to clear the mountain of tumbleweed.
‘They all blew into my yard on Sunday night from the wheat farms,’ Mr Wilde explained.
‘The wind was strong enough to pick them up and blow them right into my yard.
Dick Wilde, 73, has pleaded for help from locals to clear thousands of tumbleweeds that strong winds have blown into his garden
‘The stack reaches right to the top of the house.
‘I’m working at clearing it but it will take me at least a week.’
Mr Wilde has asked for help from the local community to clear the weeds as he is worried about the bone-dry stacks catching fire and torching his home.
He lives with his wife, Gigi, 60 and his three grandchildren, Ava, 10, Nathan, 13 and Kaylie, 15.
His home has been surrounded by piles of dry weeds from nearby wheat fields – which are at risk of catching ablaze
Mr Wilde added that the town’s tumbleweed troubles this year are the worst for more than 20 years.
‘They tumbleweed comes from the wheat fields. On the edge of the fields grow the weeds and when they dry out they get blown right into town.
‘I am working four hours a day at clearing the weeds but there’s so many.
‘It is a fire hazard and they could go up in flames like a piece of paper. I need to have them cleared as soon as I can.’
A combination of strong 60mph winds and dry weather led to huge balls of weeds being blown right across the town