Article content continued

Bryan Bagwell, who has lived in the area since 2011, told The Washington Post the wind storm was “extraordinary.”

“It seems like every time we get the tumbleweeds cleared up, the wind blows and blows them right back again,” the real estate broker said. “It’s a nasty nightmare.”

Monday’s onslaught created a horror movie scene, forcing many residents, such as Ralph Zavala, to seek shelter indoors.

“It was like dodging balls,” the 45-year-old said. “You go outside and you just see them flying over your head.”

https://twitter.com/tina_patel/status/986076306587578368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sanluisobispo.com%2Fnews%2Fstate%2Fcalifornia%2Farticle209230924.html&tfw_site=SLOTribune

The bigger nightmare, however, happened once the winds died down and people found themselves either trapped in their homes or facing hours of clean up.

While city employees were dispatched to help and cleared away unwelcome bushes by the truckload, residents still had to deal with removing tumbleweeds from their property, ABC 7 reported.

“It was terrible,” Zavala said. “It’s just a mess.”

It was like dodging balls. You go outside and you just see them flying over your head

Tumbleweeds – which, for many, only exist in movies or shows about the Wild West – have a history of invasion. Known as the Russian thistle, the invasive weed is thought to have been introduced to the U.S. in the 1870s through contaminated flax seeds brought by Russian immigrants to South Dakota. Once the plant matures, it breaks off at ground level and spreads seeds by tumbling with the wind.