A geologist has confirmed that the hole that opened underneath a home in Holiday is a sinkhole.

  • Sinkhole discovered by weed, pest control workers
  • Homeowner responsible for repair, county says
  • Geologist doesn't think sinkhole will expand

Five homes were voluntarily evacuated Monday when a sinkhole opened up under a home on Genesis Avenue. It was discovered by two men doing weed and pest control.

Roger Bowman said the sinkhole kept getting bigger, so he called 911. Right after, he called the homeowner, 72-year-old Alice Hammond, who is in New York visiting her children.

"I was sick, sick, sick cause I did not expect this," Hammond said.

Hammond said she was glad she wasn’t home when it happened.

"I just had my granddaughter there. That would have been awful," she said. "If something would have happened when she was there... I'm glad I wasn't there."

The home has not been condemned, but the county posted an unsafe notice on the home. However, Hammond could go in at her own risk.

“The front porch of this entire home is literally about 6 to 12 inches from falling into Mother Earth, so it's a very scary situation," Emergency Services Director Kevin Guthrie said.

The county updated Hammond on Tuesday, letting her know she is ultimately responsible for filling and repairing the sinkhole.

"He told me to concentrate on getting the hole filled first. Once you get the hole filled, he says then that will make it sturdier so you can get in there and get stuff out," Hammond said.

Hammond is not sure when she’ll be coming home. Right now, she is focusing her efforts on getting repairs done as soon as possible.

The county says the geologist who surveyed the sinkhole doesn't think it will expand, but it is vulnerable for water intrusion and natural erosion from heavy rain storms.