South Jordan still cleaning up after tumbleweed take over
Mar 4, 2024, 3:00 PM | Updated: 6:08 pm
This is how some homeowners in South Jordan, Utah, woke up this weekend. (Mark Less, KSL TV)
(Mark Less, KSL TV)
SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — Residents of South Jordan have a long row to hoe when it comes to corraling tumbleweeds. The prickly species showed up in neighborhoods thanks to strong winds on Saturday. Many neighbors woke up to the invasive and non-native weeds blocking streets, driveways, and even entire homes.
The situation quickly turned into a service project, said South Jordan Mayor Dawn Ramsey. Neighborhood volunteers and city workers sprang into action as soon as the tumbleweeds started piling up.
“We actually had 128 manhours of city employee time come out to work with our residents over the weekend,” noting that they brought four 15-yard dumpsters and three 30-yard dumpsters to Daybreak to deal with the influx.
Thus far, Ramsey said crews had emptied those dumpsters 13 times and counting.
“We are still cleaning up,” she said Monday. “These things are rough. They are rough, they take their toll.”
Daybreak in South Jordan got most of the tumbleweeds
Ramsey said most of the tumbleweeds piled up on the western side of the Daybreak neighborhood, near Mountain View Corridor in South Jordan, where new construction sits next to undeveloped land with nothing to prevent the weeds from blowing around.
South Jordan residents are no strangers to tumbleweed invasions – KSL wrote about a similar pile-up in 2021. Other strong wind events in South Jordan and beyond have blown dust, toppled trees, damaged signs, and sent trampolines and lawn chairs flying.
Ramsey joked that South Jordan’s founders should perhaps get some credit for a little clairvoyance.
“I don’t know if you know this, but our city, before we were named South Jordan, we were called ‘Gale,’ because of the gale-force winds that we get,” she said.
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