Incredible scene on Aussie road prompts warning to drivers: 'Actually unbelievable'

When it comes to driving, visibility of the road is usually an important prerequisite. But that has been a tricky thing for motorists in one Aussie state this week thanks to a "crazy" influx of native grasses that have been on the move – prompting a warning from authorities.

Police in Swan Hill, in the north of Victoria, warned drivers this week after capturing a wild scene in which a road had become completely overwhelmed by Common Blown-grass, also referred to as Fairy Grass or simply tumbleweeds.

"I'd never seen anything like it," local woman Brooke Williams told Yahoo News Australia, saying she was forced to drive though sections of the road where the dry grass was higher than her ute.

"You always see little bits of Fairy Grass and rolly polly’s in the country but this was actually unbelievable to see, and a bit like you had to see it to believe it."

Heading from the nearby town of Kerang, she was driving to Melbourne with her daughter to attend a concert. There had been large patches of the grass along the drive before she and her daughter arrived at the "crazy" scene police had warned about.

"The right lane heading north to Kerang was completely covered and there was a clearance on the left lane (southbound from Kerang) that you could drive through," she explained.

"Having grown up in Kerang my whole life, I’ve never seen anything quite like it!"

"They [the tumbleweeds] weren't moving, they were like a massive pile stuck there, even in the wind," Brooke said, adding that there was about a 20 to 30 metre stretch of the highway where the grass was "higher than a metre".

A short video taken at the time shows the tumbleweeds clearly visible up against the windows of the car.

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An officer at the Swan Hill Police station told Yahoo News the tumbleweeds have "certainly" been an issue of late.

"As the weather becomes drier, tumbleweeds start to move around," they said. "If drivers can’t see the actual road surface due to the tumbleweeds that in itself poses a huge risk for all motorists."

Understandably, they urged people to exhibit immense caution in this situation. "Slow down, [put your] hazard lights on to warn others of the potential risk ahead and proceed with extreme caution," the officer said.

'Eerie' scene raises Fairy Grass fire concerns

The grass – and its very combustible nature – has certainly caused concern for increasing bushfire risks for summer. And it's a danger authorities were keen to remind people of during a brutal heatwave in Victoria, with extreme fire danger alerts in place heading into the weekend.

Reacting to the photo posted by Swan Hill police, many locals voiced concern about the potential fire danger it posed.

"That is highly flammable. Cars should be checked after driving through it. Caused a fire that burnt a building and a bus that parked on it down this way a few years ago," one person commented.

"I drove through this the other day. It felt like driving through flood waters as it was impossible to see the road ahead. Eerie sensation," another local said.

A similar tumbleweed grass inundated the NSW town of Dubbo earlier this year, commonly known in the region as "Hairy Panic", which also raised wildfire fears in February.

Dr Anthony Young, a senior lecturer in crop protection, told Yahoo News at the time the weed earned the nickname "kero grass" because "it is super dry and can stack up beside buildings such as sheds, and a spark will make it go up like kerosene".

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