A massive house built on a cliffside overlooking Lake Whitney, which is about 80 miles south of Dallas, was collapsing as the cliffside fell away beneath it.
To keep any additional debris from falling into the lake, authorities set the house on fire on Friday in an effort to demolish the house. Another option considered was using a big net to drag the house to safety. That option was apparently too crazy of a solution.
The house, which is valued at somewhere between $700,000 and $800,000, is a second home owned by a family from Florida. According to reports, the owner of the house, Rob Webb, is in Florida currently dealing with a “personal issue.”
He told a Dallas TV station that the house was inspected before it was purchased but that their homeowner’s insurance will not cover the damage because it is the result of earth movement. Consequently, Webb is responsible for the demolition costs.
“It’s like, ’Is that really my home? Or is that something else that you’re watching on TV.’ And then you’re like, “Good grief, that is my home,’" Webb told WFAA in Dallas. "Yeah, it’s a trying time, certainly.”