Detroit Free Press

FRASER, Mich. — A sinkhole split open in a Detroit suburb Saturday, partially collapsing a home, endangering other structures and forcing the closure of 15 Mile Road in both directions, police said.

The sinkhole is in the same general area as a massive one that opened on the same road in 2004, and authorities said they would have to cut power to almost 900 customers for several hours so electric service could be rerouted around the affected area.

It was unclear how large the new sinkhole could be, but the source of the problem begins 55 feet underground, said Lt. Mike Pettyes of the Fraser Public Safety Department. A state of emergency was in the process of being declared for the city, and it was unclear how long would be needed for the area to be stabilized.

"We're kind of in sit-around-and-wait (mode)," he said. "A lot of people are convinced that it's just a matter of time — and it's not if the house is going to come crumbling down, it's when."

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The 1,800-square-foot home with three bedrooms and 2½ baths last sold in 1999 for $207,500 and was estimated to be worth about $250,000 in 2016, according to Zillow. It was built in 1998 on a little more than a quarter acre lot.

The city first received a call about the collapsing home at 6:30 a.m. ET, "then we realized it was more than just a house problem here," Pettyes said. No one was injured.

A line of shrubs near the house that previously was straight now slopes toward Eberlein Drive. The house is on the corner, and shingles have buckled. The gutter also was bent.

Homeowner Sue Albu said she and her husband awoke to popping noises at 4 a.m. Saturday and two hours later she had trouble opening doors. That's when she called police.

Evacuation orders were issued for the house and two neighboring homes. Most of the street was evacuated, and all of the cars moved away, Pettyes said.

Some 55 feet underground is an 11-foot-wide sewer line, "the biggest one they have," he said.

"You get a break in that line, it's just washing away dirt down there. It creates a void," Pettyes said. "When it creates a void, it moves the dirt out. The ground gives way."

DTE Energy, the area's electric and natural gas utility, was dispatched to the sinkhole about 12:20 p.m. though no power outages were reported, spokesman John Fosson said.

In August 2004, a sinkhole opened up suddenly in the same area when a sewer line collapsed, leaving a hole that was 160-by-60-feet on 15 Mile at the entrance to a nearby subdivision.

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The road was shut down between Moravian and Utica roads while crews repaired it. It reopened nearly 10 months later.

John Roach, spokesman for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan's Office, referred to Detroit Water and Sewerage Department officials for comment and they could not be immediately reached.

With the road closed, a Macomb County Mobile Command Center and emergency vehicles were in the middle of 15 Mile near the road block. Officers, city workers and a number of neighbors were watching to see if the house sunk further.

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The state of emergency was declared to prepare "us if things do get worse in the future," Pettyes said.

As police lights flashed on 15 Mile, people could be seen carrying things on the sidewalk. Two cousins, Andrea Gerard, 28, and Rosemary Bagnasco, 24, were taking a detour from a nearby shopping-center parking lot to a family Christmas party around the corner. They walked with Bagnasco’s mother, Dawnw Bagnasco, 58, all of Clinton Township, Mich., because the road closure kept them from driving to the home where Gerard’s family was hosting the party.

Though the roadblock affected the plans of 30 to 35 people attending the party, they’re worried for the neighbors whose home is in danger.

“My prayers go out to the people that, you know, their house is in trouble right now,” Gerard said. “It is really sad.”

Follow Robert Allen and Emma Ockerman on Twitter @rallenMI and @EOckerman

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