Phillip Johansen in the backyard of his home that has been overrun by Hairy Panic Grass.
Woodlands residents have described their usually scenic neighbourhood as “hell in paradise” with thousands of ‘tumbleweeds’ streaming into their yards from nearby paddocks.
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The weeds, which are formally named ‘Hairy Panic Grass’ but are more commonly referred to as tumbleweeds, have taken over the back and front yards of many homes in Rosemary and Stevenson Courts in the east of Yarrawonga, causing a substantial fire risk and allergy issues to residents.
Phillip and Helen Johansen who live on the adjacent side of Rosemary Court to the lake have had to clear their back and front yards on several occasions with Phillip having cleared 15 garbage bags full of the hairy panic grass by Wednesday last week.
“It comes over the back fence with the southerly wind like we had (last) Tuesday and just builds up in our yards,” Phillip said.
“Today (last Wednesday) I am looking at two hours of work to clear what had blown over the fence on Tuesday.
“It is a massive fire hazard as it burns well. Just at our place, the working parts of the outdoor fridge are a worry because if the panic grass happens to get behind the fridge and into the wiring, a fire could start.
Shirley and Joe Sciberras with their neighbour Clive Hooke are at their wits end with the amount of tumbleweed that is surrounding their homes with the weeds close to the hot water system at the Schiberras house after being cleared away on multiple occassions, which has a naked flame.
“There is also the risk of snakes hiding in it as we do see the odd snake out here anyway and with such an amount of hiding space for them, they could be anywhere.
“There are many elderly residents that are still living out here and aren’t able to clear any, let alone the sheer amount, of tumbleweeds finding their way into their yards.
“It depends where the winds come from for how much ends up in our yard. With the southerly there was no way to stop many of the houses in Rosemary Court from being inundated from it.
“Days when the moisture is out of the air they come flying over the fence but it is also a waste of water to try and get rid of them as it is easier to pick them up after they’ve been wet and then we also don’t know what to do with them once we have cleared them.
Another house along Stevenson Court was inundated.
“With the amount that we are clearing, even when wet, our green bins can’t handle it all.
“Helen and I haven’t had too many health issues caused by it but it does make you a bit itchy and basically ruins clothes too. Helen had a gym shirt on and they got caught in that so now trying to pull them out, is pulling the thread of the clothes.
“We’ve seen it before but not this bad. I don’t mind helping in clearing the paddock behind us. Whatever will protect our neighbourhood from any type of fire risk and saves us the time that it takes to clear.”
Joe and Shirely Sciberras, who live lakeside on Rosemary Court have not been spared by the issue with the whole perimeter of their house surrounded by the dry weed.
“These tumbleweeds have been causing issues for basically the last three or four weeks,” Joe said.
“They are going to keep coming for six to eight weeks, how bad are things going to get by the end of it?
“I spent seven hours the other day clearing right around the house and you look today (last Wednesday) and they are waist height again.
“I am going in for surgery and will be unable to do any work really, so what do we do about the issue when it is already as bad as it is?
Peta Hooke has to wade through the tumbleweed in her wheelchair to reach her pool that she uses for physiotherapy.
“Our hot water system is around the side of the house and the tumbleweeds are now as high as it. That is a naked flame. If it sets alight, our home and possibly others next to us will go up in flames.
“The house next door is also having work done. The painter had to repaint several times as the tumbleweed kept flying into the house.
“We can’t open our doors. If we have a door open at one end of the house, we can’t then open the other as it flies through the house,” Shirley added.
“The holiday house between us were only up for a couple of days at the end of the holidays because they couldn’t open their back door and couldn’t sit outside.
“The sheer amount that each home is dealing with is a risk in so many aspects.
“My daughter Peta is in a wheelchair and needs to use the pool as her exercise and as a form of therapy,” Clive Hooke added.
“There have been several days that she has not been able to do this as there have been so many tumbleweeds in the pool even though I had cleaned it the day before.
“They also clog the pool pumps which causes another issue and money to fix.
The Hooke's pool which was unusable for Peta to do their physiotherapy.
“It happened about three years ago around Easter but never anything this bad. We want to see some accountability taken and something done to rectify the situation quickly before the worst happens.”
A Moira Shire spokesperson said council had received several complaints from residents with a fire prevention officer inspecting the site that backs on to Rosemary Court late last week with a notice issued to the landowner.
“We have inspected the land and issued a fire prevention notice,” the spokesperson said.
“On inspection our officer noted that the property in question might not actually be the source of the weeds. However, they will still need to comply and clear the property by slashing. After that we will have a better understanding of the source.
“Residents can use kerbside green bins or take it to our transfer station to use the larger organic bins.
“It is a massive amount though, the most we’ve seen, and definitely something we will continue to work with the landowner to clear.”
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