Hum Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 LAKEPORT, Calif. (AP) ? Scott and Robin Spivey had a sinking feeling that something was wrong with their home when cracks began snaking across their walls in March. The cracks soon turned into gaping fractures, and within two weeks their 600-square-foot garage broke from the house and the entire property ? manicured lawn and all ? dropped 10 feet below the street. It wasn't long before the houses on both sides collapsed as the ground gave way in the Spivey's neighborhood in Lake County, about 100 miles north of San Francisco. "We want to know what is going on here," said Scott Spivey, a former city building inspector who had lived in his four-bedroom, Tudor-style dream home for 11 years. Eight homes are now abandoned and 10 more are under notice of imminent evacuation as a hilltop with sweeping vistas of Clear Lake and the Mount Konocti volcano swallows the subdivision built 30 years ago. The situation has gotten so bad that mail delivery was ended to keep carriers out of danger. "It's a slow-motion disaster," said Randall Fitzgerald, a writer who bought his home in the Lakeside Heights project a year ago. Unlike sinkholes of Florida that can gobble homes in an instant, this collapse in hilly volcanic country can move many feet on one day and just a fraction of an inch the next. Officials believe water that has bubbled to the surface is playing a role in the destruction. But nobody can explain why suddenly there is plentiful water atop the hill in a county with groundwater shortages. "That's the big question," said Scott De Leon, county public works director. "We have a dormant volcano, and I'm certain a lot of things that happen here (in Lake County) are a result of that, but we don't know about this." Other development on similar soil in the county is stable, county officials said. While some of the subdivision movement is occurring on shallow fill, De Leon said a geologist has warned that the ground could be compromised down to bedrock 25 feet below and that cracks recently appeared in roads well beyond the fill. "Considering this is a low rainfall year and the fact it's letting go now after all of these years, and the magnitude that it's letting go, well it's pretty monumental," De Leon said. County officials have inspected the original plans for the project and say it was developed by a reputable engineering firm then signed off on by the public works director at the time. "I can only presume that they were checked prior to approval," De Leon said. The sinkage has prompted county crews to redirect the subdivision's sewage 300 feet through an overland pipe as manholes in the 10-acre development collapsed. Consultant Tom Ruppenthal found two small leaks in the county sewage system that he said weren't big enough to account for the amount of water that is flowing along infrastructure pipes and underground fissures, but they could be contributing to another source. "It's very common for groundwater to shift its course," said Ruppenthal of Utility Services Associates in Seattle. "I think the groundwater has shifted." If the county can't get the water and sewer service stabilized, De Leon said all 30 houses in the subdivision will have to be abandoned. The owners of six damaged homes said they need help from the government. It is not unusual for groundwater in the region to make its way to the surface then subside. Many natural hot springs and geysers receded underground in the early 1900s and have since been tapped for geothermal power. Homeowners now wonder whether fissures have opened below their hilltop, allowing water to seep to the surface. But they're so perplexed they also talk about the land being haunted and are considering asking the local Native American tribe if the hilltop was an ancient graveyard. more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted May 12, 2013 Member Share Posted May 12, 2013 The owners of six damaged homes said they need help from the government. What do they expect the government to do? fusi0n 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ph1b3r0pt1c Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Consider it a federal damage site and pay for it. Or force the home insurance companies to pay out maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torolol Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 is there any geological report about possible sinkhole risk % ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusi0n Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 What do they expect the government to do? Build a new house, room and board at a 5 start hotel, $10,000,000 in cash, and a public apology most likely.. Growled 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted May 12, 2013 Author Share Posted May 12, 2013 What do they expect the government to do? Fill in all sink holes with the Colorado mountains. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts