Luxury Home Dangling Off Cliff Over Lake Whitney
Credit: CBSDFW.com
LAKE WHITNEY (CBSDFW.COM) – A vacant luxury home is dangling over Lake Whitney after the bluff beneath it has given way and fallen into the lake.
A crack was found in the bluff beneath the home, located in the White Bluff gated community, roughly a year ago.
According to a spokesman at the Hill County Sheriff’s Office, the residents knew the home was not safe and evacuated.
A large portion of the bluff fell into the lake on Tuesday afternoon, leaving a portion of the house dangling off the cliff.
“Just best guess looking at this map, [the home] is probably 60 to 80 yards from the lake,” said Mark Wilson, Chief Deputy with the Hill County Sheriff’s Office. “Yes, there’s a lot of erosion.”
According to authorities, the home is not a public safety concern, and the electricity to the home has been shut off.
Security for the private community is not allowing visitors or reporters on the scene.
Wilson says that representatives with the Army Corps of Engineers are in the water behind the house, evaluating the home and keeping boaters from getting too close.
“We have some of our lake stuff that are taking photos to get a picture of how the erosion is going,” said Randy Cephus with the Fort Worth District of the Army Corp of Engineers. “We’re looking at a number of things, including erosion, load that’s on the top from watering and rain, the actual fault, and some fill material with a retaining wall that was placed in there. There are many things that are being looked at and evaluated”
Cephus says that Lake Whitney has not been immune to the drought and is currently sitting 11 feet below normal levels. It’s unclear if that played a role in the bluff’s collapse.
Authorities are not expected to intervene and instead will allow the home to fall into the lake.
(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Latest News:
- Dez To Dallas On Contract: ‘Don’t Test My Loyalty’
- Judge Gives Burleson Man 18 Years For Rape
- Duncanville Teacher Resigns Over Controversial Tweet
- Cats Take Over Fort Worth Apartment Complex
- Frigid Temps & H.S. Football Have North Texans Bundling Up
Top Trending:
- PHOTOS: Your Pet Pictures
