Portola Valley residents participated in the town's annual "broom pull," removing what the town calls a "nasty flammable weed."

Residents weren't able to gather at the Historic Schoolhouse to volunteer as a group — as they have every year since 2004 — to pull out the hardy invasive species, commonly known as French Broom. Instead, from March 1 to 7, up to three family groups could gather to work together in their neighborhood or a nearby right of way (in accordance with the "red tier" restrictions in San Mateo County), according to the town.

The town Conservation Committee gave awards to residents who filled up the most bins with the weed; the largest individual specimen pulled; the youngest person pulling; the oldest person pulling; and neighborhoods with a neighborhood pull activity.

For residents with large pull volumes, Greenwaste gave customers two vouchers for extra bins of yard waste trimmings, according to the town. Residents can place up to two 96-gallon containers of extra yard trimming set-outs each on their regularly scheduled day of collection. The customer just needs to affix the vouchers to the containers.

Conditions are best now for pulling the weed out. Once the ground becomes dry, it's nearly impossible to yank it out of the ground, according to the town. It's crucial to pull out the roots of the plants. Cutting it off just makes it much harder to remove and it re-sprouts with an even stronger root, according to the town.