'Only Mother Nature knows' when 70-foot-deep New Port Richey hole will stop growing

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - A gaping hole off Little Road in New Port Richey just got bigger overnight. When Pasco Emergency Management officials inspected it Thursday morning, it had grown another three feet wider and another 20 feet deeper.

The hole, which opened Monday, has been steadily increasing in size. The latest estimate is that it is 38 feet across and 70 feet deep.

“After looking at this and comparing it to what I have seen on TV, I can’t believe how big this is,” Dave Purdy commented to FOX 13.

The hole sits next to Varsity Club Sports Bar, which has been closed for safety reasons.

Varsity Club Sports Bar is now closed.

A road leading to Spring Haven, the closest neighborhood, has also been closed.

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Just to make sure that Spring Haven residents are not affected if the hole continues to grow, municipal water company workers have re-routed their sewage line and installed a shut off value in case their water supply has to be re-routed.

Bruce Wernet stopped by to see the hole.

“It’s a big hole; a big scary one for sure,” said Bruce Wernet, who stopped by to see it for himself.

Experts have used radar to size up the problem as it stands. How much bigger it is going to get and how fast is still unknown.

The view from above the hole shows dirt, water, and a fence it swallowed.

The head of Pasco County’s Emergency Management Department tells FOX 13 that only Mother Nature knows the answer to that.