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Seventh home condemned due to Florida sinkhole

Posted at 9:11 PM, Aug 05, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-07 13:40:51-04
The Land O' Lakes, Florida sinkhole that first opened weeks ago has grown by another 30 feet. Now, three more homes are condemned bringing the total number of condemned homes to seven with even more evacuated. 
 
Two of the homes were condemned over the weekend, the third was condemned on Monday morning.
 
 
“Another piece fell in like yesterday and you never know if another one’s going to come over here,” homeowner Lorelis Prieto said.
 
It's a moment Lorelis will always remember. 
 
“I just kept hearing pieces falling and there was water and I saw a palm tree go down and I’m like immediately I was getting stuff out of my house because I didn’t know how big it was going to grow, if it was going to stop,” she said.
 
The Land O' Lakes sinkhole swallowed two homes, just a few doors down. Now county officials confirm that sinkhole has grown by another 30 feet, making it about 260 feet at the widest point.
 
 
"200 feet away there was this huge massive hole that opened up in the ground and like in the middle of the night anything can happen so I don’t think I'd be coming back," Lorelis said.
 
County officials said some of their equipment may have caused the additional collapse but they don't think this is an active sinkhole. 
 
Over the weekend, dozens of dump trucks bring lime stone and boulders to steady the sinkhole. Crews are even planning to create a boat ramp so a small barge can work from the inside. Right now, this site is a spectacle. 
 
 
“Shows you there’s not much to do in land o lakes on a Saturday night,” one neighbor said. “Just hope that they can get it fixed and people can get back home and their homes are safe."
 
Crews are cleaning debris throughout the weekend.