Yahoo! News:  Tumbleweeds overtake HOA neighborhood and trap families in their homes

By Charlene Sakoda

March 19, 2014

Recent tornado-like winds have covered a Colorado Springs, Colorado neighborhood in tumbleweeds. The large dried plants have invaded the Cuchares Ranches subdivision to such a degree that some residents said they were trapped in their homes and had to call 911 for help.“I look outside and tumbleweeds are literally blowing up and over our house,” Melissa Walker told KRDO NewsChannel 13. “I didn’t expect to be able to jump from my second story window into a pile of tumbleweeds.” In some places, the tumbleweeds are stacked 10-feet high.As reported by KCNC CBS 4, the neighborhood is under development and does not even appear on maps yet, so the tumbleweeds blow in from adjacent empty fields. The invaders are not new to Colorado Springs, but the locals say it has never been this bad. The residents are getting no help from the homeowners association. Walker told KRDO, “I don’t think they understand the gravity of the situation. It’s not just a few tumbleweeds. It really is a block full of tumbleweeds that we can’t drive. We can’t walk. We can’t get out of our homes. The fact that they’ve pretty much abandoned us at this point is really disheartening.”  Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/oddnews/tumbleweeds-overtake-neighborhood-and-trap-families-in-their-homes-220344195.html#.UypI-3rXw3w.blogger