Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct size of the stormwater drainage pipe that runs below 1010 Merrimon Ave. The city had provided incorrect information initially.

ASHEVILLE — A monster sinkhole in a Merrimon Avenue parking lot continues to expand at an alarming rate.

As of early afternoon on June 24, it's a yawning 27 feet in diameter. When Asheville firefighters responded to the scene on the morning of the sinkhole's appearance, they estimated it was about 20 feet deep. Now, those who dare to approach the edge figure it's twice as deep.

The property owner — and neighbors on Merrimon Avenue — find themselves scratching their heads. What's the emergency protocol when the ground gives up?

Who you gonna call (about a sinkhole)?

When Iván Nazario Zapata, general manager of the Early Girl Eatery next door, realized the pit threatened to gobble up a delivery van, he didn't know who to reach out to.

He guessed the Asheville Fire Department. (They have ladders, right?) He guessed wrong.

The fire department can only intervene if there's a clear and present danger, according to AFD spokeswoman Kelley Klope. "If a car were to go into it or something, we would respond to an emergency or an immediate life threat," Klope said in an email to the Citizen Times.

Sinkholes on private land

If a sinkhole crops up on public land — say, in the middle of a road — the City is responsible for repairs. Experts say the majority of sinkholes in the Asheville area are caused by elderly public infrastructure — indeed, a Citizen Times analysis in 2017 identified underground pipe failures as the cause of "nearly all" major sinkholes in Asheville since 1996.

But if a pit opens on private property, the landowner generally assumes custody of the sinkhole and all associated repairs.

It's not enough for the property owner to demonstrate the sinkhole was caused by the failure of a public pipe — evidence of an easement is necessary for the City to contribute to the costs of repairs. This is complicated by the fact that many written records of pipes have been lost over the decades, and pipes over a century old may never have been documented at all.

Asheville City spokeswoman Ashley Traynum-Carson said officials are aware of a "48-inch stormwater drainage pipe" that runs beneath 1010 Merrimon Ave. Maps from the Buncombe County Metropolitan Sewage District indicate the presence of a 10-inch "sewer gravity main" made of vitrified clay. It's unclear if there are any easements in effect for 1010 Merrimon Avenue.

Traynum-Carson added that city officials are in contact with the property owner at 1010 Merrimon Avenue and will be working to issue permits for emergency repairs to fix the hole.

The Merrimon Avenue sinkhole curse

The western side of Merrimon Avenue, the side that abuts Beaver lake, is already pocked with sinkhole scars. Ski Country Sports, located just next door to the current sinkhole at 1000 Merrimon Avenue, has weathered three sinkholes in 2006, 2007, and 2013 — all caused by failed culverts. Owner Craig Friedrich sued the city, alleging local government was responsible due to "an unreasonable volume" of water going through private pipes, but the court ruled against him.

A sinkhole opened at 1020 Merrimon Avenue in 2010, and another failed culvert took down part of the parking lot at 1030 Merrimon Avenue (now occupied by the North Asheville library).

Employees at Early Girl Eatery, also located at 1020 Merrimon Avenue, say they've spotted the same kind of asphalt dimple that heralded the arrival of Merrimon Avenue's most recent gaping hole — just a few parking spaces away.