Page 11 - IAV Digital Magazine #490

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Several Cars Trapped Overnight
Inside Monster Tumbleweed
Pile In Eastern Washington
By Samantha Swindler | The Oregonian/Orego nLive
A handful of trav- elers spent the early hours of the new year trapped inside a massive pileup of tumble- weeds that shut down a highway in eastern Washington for 10 hours.
State Route 240 was closed in both directions at mile point 10 near West Richland as Washington Department of Transportation workers cleared the road -- using what appeared in photos to be a snow plow.
The Associated Press quoted Washington State Trooper Chris Thorson, who said five cars and one 18-wheel semi truck were
trapped in the tumbleweeds over New Year’s Eve night. The road did not reopen until about 4:30 a.m. New Year’s Day.
“People were still stuck at midnight and rung in the new year trapped under the weeds,” Thorson said.
Thorson posted on Twitter that tumbleweeds were piled 20 to 30 feet in places.
By 8 a.m.
Wednesday, offi- cials reported that one abandon car was still trapped in the tumbleweeds, but no one was found inside.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine