Photo by: fox13news
A massive 60-foot sinkhole forced a Highland City family to leave their home.
Now crews in Polk County are working to fix it as some neighbors worry if their home could be next.
“It’s horrible, it’s just unbelievable. It’s like a nightmare,” said neighbor Jim Mills.
A nightmare for any Florida homeowner, is what one Highland City family awoke to Saturday morning.
A gaping 60-foot hole is now in their front yard, just steps away from swallowing up their home.
Neighbor Jim Mills knows this home well. His parents were the original owners and lived there for 43 years. He said they just sold the home a few months ago after his mom passed away in July.
He said they sold the home to a young couple with a newborn baby.
“I keep thinking how horrible it is for them,” he said.
On Tuesday, crews began the methodical process of filling the hole, about 24 hours after it nearly doubled in size.
Polk County Emergency Manager Paul Womble was there Monday when it grew wider.
“It was loud and we could feel it!” he said.
Womble is familiar with the repair process now underway. He said the soil in this part of Polk County makes it prone to sinkholes.
He said crews will spend a few days filling the hole with sand and clay, once its stable engineers will do an assessment, as they try to answer the question keeping Jim Mills awake at night.
“Everybody can relate, like why isn’t it happening in my house? Or under my house? Or in my yard?” said Mills.
So far Womble said there aren’t any signs of structural damage to this home or to neighboring homes.
But he understands how unsettling this can be.
“For the folks in this neighborhood, if you see a crack in the driveway or something in your tile floor or your stucco that wasn’t there, call and we will assess it and go from there,” said Womble.
Officials said because a majority of the sinkhole is on the easement, the county is on the hook to fix it.
But they say this is a good reminder for homeowners to check your policy on what types of coverage you have.
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Source: fox13news
