Complaints Tumble In Over Weeds Near Railroad Tracks

Invasive weeds never make a pretty sight. But when they grow over 7 feet tall, they constitute a fire hazard, say Stanton city officials and residents.

And they’re nearly everywhere along the rights of way of Union Pacific Railroad tracks in Stanton, where they also provide a refuge for transients. And once the winter rains begin, they’ll come loose and clog the storm drain system, said Stanton Community Development Director Mark Lloyd.

The problem has become so bad that residents are complaining loudly to the city and railroad about the eyesore and potential fire hazard the weeds pose.

Lloyd, other city officials and residents say Union Pacific Railroad, the owner of the tracks, needs to remove the weeds.

Large brown and green tumbleweeds line tracks running east and west of Western Avenue. Some trash and an abandoned shopping cart are also evident. Near the Katella Mobile Home Park, piles of weeds slashed down and left by Union Pacific workers several weeks ago are evident.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Toni Fontaine, who lives in the Katella Mobile Home Park Estates. Behind her property abutting the railroad tracks grow tumbleweeds several feet around and up to 7 feet high, palm trees and a swift-growing vine that easily climbs the block walls and invades residents’ back yards, said Fontaine.

Fontaine and her neighbors worry about the risk the weeds and a random spark pose to their wooden mobile homes.

“It’s dangerous and it’s an eyesore,” she said.

So long as the weeds remain green, they pose a limited fire danger, said Art Herrera, a fire apparatus engineer for the Orange County Fire Authority’s Stanton station. However, a big pile of dry tumbleweeds will “burn like a Christmas tree,” generating a lot of heat quickly, he said.

Lloyd said he began complaining to Union Pacific representatives in April. As the weeds have continued to grow, so has his frustration.

If Union Pacific doesn’t do something soon, city officials said they may hire contractors and bill the railroad company. Getting rid of the weeds could cost up to $50,000, Lloyd said.

The railroad company applied weed killer along the tracks during the early spring, said Union Pacific Railroad spokesman Mike Furtney. The recent complaints have initiated more efforts to limit the problem. However, the company has limited resources and can’t remove every weed on its 36,000 miles of tracks throughout the country, he said.

But Lloyd, Stanton’s community development director, said he has yet to see any weed abatement efforts. “Generally speaking it’s altogether unacceptable,” he said. “I don’t understand how they can allow this to happen.”

Judy Silber can be reached at (714) 966-5988.