A sinkhole split open in a familiar area of 15 Mile Road today in Fraser, partially collapsing a home, endangering other structures and forcing the closure of the road in both directions between Hayes and Utica, police said.

Authorities also planned to cut power to 875 DTE Energy customers for two to three hours, starting about 5 p.m., so that electrical services could be rerouted around the affected area.

The sinkhole is in the same general area as a massive one that opened on 15 Mile in 2004.

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

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"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."

Pettyes said the city first received a call about the collapsing home at 6:20 a.m., "then we realized it was more than just a house problem here."

A line of shrubs near the house along 15 Mile that previously was straight today now sloped toward Eberlein Drive. The house is on the corner, and shingles have buckled. The gutter also was bent.

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, he said there's an 11-foot-wide sewer line, "the biggest one they have," he said.

Pettyes summarized what's been happening under the house: "You get a break in that line, it's just washing away dirt down there. It creates a void. When it creates a void, it moves the dirt out. The ground gives way."

DTE was dispatched to the sinkhole about 12:20 p.m., though there were no power outages reported, DTE Energy 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 and the entrance to a nearby subdivision. 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, who 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. Pettyes said the state of emergency was declared to prepare "us if things do get worse in the future."

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

They said the road block affected their plans, along with that of the other 30-35 attending the party, but that they’re worried for the neighbors whose home is endangered by the sinkhole.

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

Several people watched the spectacle of emergency vehicles from the nearby Green Lantern pizzeria. Paige Toerper, a waitress there, said she and others are scared for the residents affected by the sinkhole.

She said a different restaurant was in the location the last time a sinkhole closed 15 Mile about 10 years ago, and they've been told it lost business because of it.

"I just hope this gets fixed, the families find somewhere safe to go, and that our business isn't affected, because it's a really good business to work for," Toerper said.

Contact Robert Allen on Twitter @rallenMI or rallen@freepress.com.