MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A Marion County neighborhood has a major sinkhole problem. A giant 20-foot deep hole broke open in the Fore Ranch neighborhood over the weekend and, Tuesday, WFTV found the problem doesn't end there.
When the sinkhole showed up late last week it was 28 feet wide. It has since grown to 50 feet wide and 20 feet deep. Not only that, it has made some new friends.
The growing sinkhole is big enough to fit at least five cars and large enough to swallow an entire tree, but Ocala city leaders say it is normal.
"It's nothing new to us. It's just a day-to-day activity," Assistant City Manager Bruce Phillips said.
Sinkholes are known to show up unexpectedly in Marion County, where porous lime rock is closer to the surface.
"We've had a lot of rain here lately. The cavities have filled up and the limestone has become soft. The weight of the ground over it caused the cave in," Phillips said.
The city plans to hire a contractor to dig a hole 100 feet wide and then fill it with clay.
"How are you going to afford such a big undertaking?" WFTV reporter Q. McCray asked Phillips.
"We've got contingency money in the city," he replied.
The city doesn't know how much the fix will cost, but it will be splitting the bill with the Fore Ranch Subdivision Management.
"The city's on top of it and, the good news is, it's in an area where no homes are threatened," Phillips said.
Residents still have concerns.
"They need to find out why we continue to have sinkholes," a resident said.
City officials have no plans to check the ground under nearby homes, but they did close an entire road.
"How big of an inconvenience is this for you?" McCray asked a resident.
"It is, because we have to drive around the whole thing," the resident answered.
Not only that, smaller sinkholes keep popping up around the bigger one and the water level in the retention ponds on either side of the hole dropped six feet.
The city hopes to have the things back to normal by mid-September.
Marion County is one of several Florida counties vulnerable to sinkholes. Sinkholes are formed by the groundwater dissolving limestone and most of Central Florida is on a bed of limestone.