Giant Texas Sinkhole's Appetite Decreasing

Officials Say 900-Foot-Long Pit Seems To Be Slowing Down; Cause Still Unknown

(AP)  Geologists said a 260-foot-deep sinkhole that grew to the length of three football fields over just two days seemed to be slowing down Thursday, but that it could take months before it's clear whether surrounding areas are stable.

The 900-foot-long sinkhole, with crumbling dirt around its edges resembling sharp teeth, has swallowed up oil tanks and barrels, tires, telephone poles and several vehicles in Daisetta, a once-booming oil town of about 1,000 residents about 60 miles northeast of Houston.

Residents feared the appetite of the sinkhole, which began as a 20-foot hole in the ground on Wednesday, would continue unabated Thursday and threaten nearby homes. But by Thursday afternoon officials and geologists allayed those concerns.

"We're not sure it has completely stopped. We're confident it has slowed down," said Tom Branch, coordinator of the Liberty County Office of Emergency Management. "We feel a whole lot better today."

A day earlier, Branch, other officials and residents had watched as large chunks of earth, as well as the oil field equipment, trees and vehicles that sat on them tumbled into the crater. The mixture of oil and mud at the bottom of the sinkhole made it look like a tar pit.

Carl Norman, a geologist working with officials, said he planned to measure the change of ground elevation around the sinkhole over the next few days to try to determine whether it is still growing or is now stabilized. But he added, "It will be at least three months before we can say if it's stable or not."

Jayme Downs, whose home is located about 300 yards from the sinkhole, said she wasn't sure if her nerves can hold out that long.

"I'm very worried," Downs said as she and her 5-year-old daughter stood in front of the local high school, located about a quarter of a mile from the sinkhole. Classes were in session on Thursday.

"You don't know what is going to happen. There's no way to tell. The whole town could cave in. You never know," she said.

Officials said any further growth of the sinkhole probably would be very slow and if nearby homes were in danger, there would be advance warning. There are about 100 homes in the immediate area.

Cpl. Hugh Bishop with the Liberty County Sheriff's Office said no homes had been evacuated and there had been no reports of injuries.

Officials are still trying to figure out what caused the sinkhole.

Daisetta sits on a salt dome, a natural formation created below the ground over millions of years where oil brine and natural gas accumulate. Oil drilling in the area, still dotted with working oil derricks, might have weakened the dome and caused it to collapse, Norman said.

But the sinkhole might also be a natural occurrence caused by ground water leaking into the salt dome and dissolving parts of it.

Don Van Nieuwenhuise, a geosciences professor at the University of Houston, said oil production usually doesn't affect the integrity of a salt dome. He said he thinks the sinkhole is probably related to saltwater waste that is being stored underground in the area. The saltwater is a byproduct of oil production and has to be stored underground so it won't contaminate water supplies and the environment.

"It probably fractured part of the salt dome and it's leaking out," he said.

Investigators with the Texas Railroad Commission were checking pipelines and trying to determine if any regulations have been violated. Officials with Texas Natural Resources and Conservation were monitoring air and water quality. So far, no pollutants have been detected.

Petroleum refiner Sunoco Inc. secured two 6-inch crude oil pipelines near the sinkhole that had started to leak Wednesday.

[vet999999]

Having lived several years in texas as a kid, there really is not much going down that hole....:)

[martin9p2]

What''s the bottom line here? Oil producers will be liable for causing the earth to cave in and destroy property?

[excoachken]

And I thought this was a story about Kay Hutchinson.

[walt1944-2009]

The Great Emperor Bush II is relieved to have learned that the Great Texas Sinkhole has slowed down its progress and may not swallow up the Great Emperor''s Crawford ranch and the entire state of Texas after all!

Assured by scientists that the sinkhole is NOT being made by huge earthworms with teeth that are "out to get him", the Great Emperor Bush can now move ahead with plans for his daughter''s wedding on the ranch, without fear that it would be disrupted by burrowing wedding crashers like huge worms or paperotzi!

However, until positively proved that there is no danger to his ranch or his beloved Library, the Great Emperor has ordered Karl Rove to take time from his "consulting job" with the "Bagdad John McBush" McCain campaign, to draw up emergency plans to move his ranch and library if the scientists are wrong!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!!
sig heil, DEFINITELY MORE OF THE SAME, McCain!!!!

[newsjunky5]

The mixture covering the bottom is oil and mud. Has anyone tried lighting it on fire yet? It wouldn''t really solve the problem, but it would keep people away from the edge. And it would be cool, like the rest of the nation getting back at Texas.

[newsjunky5]

"Dam gofers!"

And it would get rid of the gofers.

[rowdytexan2]

Having lived several years in texas as a kid, there really is not much going down that hole....:)


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Posted by vet999999 at 12:43 PM : May 09, 2008

Glad to know you''re not living here anymore...you sound real boring!

[questionnews]

It''s just a movie set stunt. They are filming Caddyshack 3. The nemesis gopher had it pretty easy while Carl Spackler was on tour in Iraq. But Carl is back back at his old job & with new & exciting ordinance he picked up from an Iranian arms dealer. But little does Carl know the gopher has educated himself in the production of IEDs. The action & humor will explode on the big screen in this continuing saga of man vs gopher.
I''ll stop there. I don''t want to ruin the movie for you.

[rushlimpdrug]

So this is what a Texas size *** looks like.

Will Jenna Bush be married inside or in the
perimeter of the hole?

[chefrc]

Daisetta sits on a salt dome, a natural formation created below the ground over millions of years where oil brine and natural gas accumulate. Oil drilling in the area, still dotted with working oil derricks, might have weakened the dome and caused it to collapse, Norman said.

But the sinkhole might also be a natural occurrence caused by ground water leaking into the salt dome and dissolving parts of it.


It could also be those *** aliens again, Let''s all run home and wrap ourselves in tin foil so the space crickets won''t get us. Jesus Christ!!! Make up your friggin mind either shut up

[quetzalcrist]

Kay Bailey is the biggest GOP hole in texas, but
this one is just a little bit wider...

[l8c6]

When the middle east sinks the sheiks, the Texas oil rich, the western nations natural resource capitalists, where will they all go? Who next will they suck from?

[l8c6]

All good christian fundamentalists would say, God put the earth here for christian bible learnin'' folk to exploit and consume. The consequences are quite ugly. That big oil tank splashed into a pool of pre-historic sludge. I''ll bet that town smells like sulphur dioxide.

[nonayabiness]

The next sorry and illegitimate excuse for the Iraq War......

"Dam Saddam and his WMDs. Look at that destruction. Not in MY state, not in MY backyard! Not only should we have invaded Iraq, I sure am glad we stayed the course."

-George W. Bush

[flagship-usa]

I fear for those folks. Should TheHole, once dormant, worsen. The Feds may have to call in FEMA.

[dmhphils]

Don''t make a canyon out of a sink hole.

[jaykay3141]

This is all the fault of NAFTA. Didn''t Ross Perot warn about "giant sucking sound" headed towards Mexico?

[blackyowe]

Just more Texas bull. Anything for oil never mind any care about the enviornment or people''s lives. just grab that oil!

[cj9111]

Well, they say things are bigger in Texas