Florida: Westside sinkhole swallows shed, tree

[Moderating Staff]

June 28, 2012

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Two Westside families no longer trust the ground beneath their feet after a sinkhole swallowed part of their backyards.

The shed was on Margie Molina's yard on Joffre Road.

"It's an unbelievable thing," Molina said.

The tree was in Sharon Bryant's yard. That's where the sinkhole started overnight Monday.

"I called the city and they sent the fire department out and they said it was okay," Bryant said.

The next day, Molina watched as as the ground crumbled from beneath the shed, just 13 feet from her porch.

Molina and Bryant said they both reported the sinkhole to the City of Jacksonville.

"We need someone to come here immediately and stabilize the dirt before it reaches our homes," Molina said.

As of Thursday, they'd heard nothing, so they contacted First Coast News.

We measured the sinkhole to be at least 12 feet deep at the edge.

After we saw the sinkhole, we called the city.

Less than an hour later, a Public Works supervisor arrived.

Marcy Cook, COJ Public Works administration manager, said later Thursday evening the area is now a high priority. She added the initial plan is to stabilize, then repair.

"All this time we thought this was pretty stable," Molina said. "We had no reason to believe this wasn't."

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/topstories/article/262092/483/Westsid...