A large sinkhole that opened up in a Land O'Lakes neighborhood Friday and destroyed two homes now appears to be dormant, according to Pasco County authorities. 

Saturday Morning Media Update: 

Emergency officials held a briefing Saturday morning on the current condition of the sinkhole. They said the sinkhole has stopped growing since Friday and they are now moving to recovery mode and treating it as a hazmat incident due to possible septic tank issues and building debris. 

Officials said there has been no movement from the sinkhole as of 9 a.m. Saturday and the water depth has decreased 4-6 inches since its peak. 

Crews are treating the entire area as if its contaminated and say cleanup cold take weeks, possibly months. Officials are waiting for the state geologist to arrive to determine when evacuated homeowner can return. 

Officials said homes outside the perimeter are looking at a few days and homes inside the perimeter could take weeks. 

Officials said this is the largest sinkhole Pasco County has faced in the last three decades. It has impacted 11 homes, two of which have been destroyed. 

Friday Report: 

Pasco County officials said the sinkhole started as a depression that formed underneath a boat shorthly after 7 a.m. Friday. Officials said within an hour the sinkhole swallowed one home and 80 percent of another home.

The two homes impacted by the sinkhole are located at 21825 and 21835 Ocean Pines Drive. 

"Never seen this before. Hole grew fast and swallowed that home pretty quickly," said Shawn Whited, division chief of the Pasco County Fire Rescue.

On top of the homes that were destroyed, nine others are "perched" on danger and have been evacuated. They may be out of their homes until sometime next week.

The issue has also become a hazmat emergency, though, because of septic tank damage.

Other homes in the neighborhood also are still without power because a power pole is very close to the sinkhole.

County officials said the sinkhole is currently between 225-250 feet in diameter and 50 feet deep. 

"We're going to continue to watch it, but it's going to need to stay dormant for 24, 36, 48 hours before we can start doing anything else," said Kevin Guthrie with Pasco County.

Anyone who doesn't live in the neighborhood has been asked to stay away.

"These people in this community do not deserve to have people coming from the outside and put more stress on them," said Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco.

Emergency officials say there is no quick fix for this sink hole. They will be moving into recovery mode in the next few days, but repairs could be going on for at least a month.

Pasco Fire Rescue, Emergency Management, Duke Energy and the Pasco Building Inspections have been on scene all day as the sinkhole continues to develop. 

Officials said the families had already left for work when crews arrived on scene, but firefighters were able to rescue two dogs from one of the homes and some of the family's belongings. 

Currently, nine other homes in the neighborhood have been voluntarily evacuated and 100 homes are without power. Officials say residents need to be ready at a moments notice as the sinkhole continues to grow. 

Residents react

From across the street, 15-year-old Thalia Chapman watched in tears as her home was slowly destroyed by the sinkhole.

"All our memories are there," Thalia said. "And my room was the first one to go down."

Thalia's family movied into the home 10 years ago after emigrating from Cuba. It was the first home they had ever owned, and by the end of the morning, it was gone.

"It started falling fast," said Thalia. "We couldn't get our papers, our clothes, nothing."

The family told us they barely had time to grab their dogs and get out.

A few houses down, Eric Worsham and his fiancée, Theresa Mont, who just moved into their house last week, were deciding what to take with them as they evacuated.

"We're taking our valuables with us," Worsham said. "My wife's jewelry, things like that."

Worsham and Mont had a direct view from their backyard of the homes that were destroyed. Mont told us she had no idea there had been any sinkhole activity in the area before they moved in last week.

"When you buy a home, you're supposed to feel safe, secure, because your home is your life," Mont said.

In a news conference Friday afternoon, Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco asked the community to pray for the families impacted and those whose homes are being threatened by the sinkhole. 

Citizens who need help can reach out to Red Cross, Salvation Army, and Pasco County Human Services at 727-847-2411. 

Property records note a sinkhole confirmed in 2012 as "stabilized." The home was sold in 2015.

Sinkhole History

Two homes were destroyed by a large sinkhole in Land O’ Lakes Friday morning. The sinkhole started as a depression underneath a boat around 7 a.m. and quickly formed into a sinkhole, swallowing one home, and 80 percent of another, along with a portion of the roadway.

It turns out that there has been a sinkhole at that home before.

Bay News 9 dug through documents--from the property appraiser, engineers, and even from official realtor paperwork—to find out more about when and how the sinkhole was prepared.

We even spoke with the current homeowner, Walter Zadanoff, who has another address, but wouldn’t confirm if he lives in the home that was destroyed or rents it out.

However, problems with the three bedroom home started with a differed homeowner years before a sinkhole swallowed it.

In 2012 an insurance company paid for an investigation. The engineers found a report confirming a sinkhole.

The company recommended grout to secure the home, costing up to $150,000, but according to what we found, the work was not done.

“The sinkhole was never remediated at this location,” Jay Silver, president of Helicon, said.

Two years after the sinkhole, Silver said he was hired to support the foundation by adding underpinnings. Those underpinnings can still be seen under the collapsed home.

“They contacted an engineer and did an alternative repair plan and was very clear it was not a repair,” he said.

While one report indicates grout was added, Silver said it wasn’t true and the price tag proves it.

On the documents we found on the property appraiser’s website, the $30,000 repair cost well below the $150,000 to fix the sinkhole.

“A lot of times it comes down to dollars and cents,” Silver said. “Repairs exceed insurance—if you can’t afford it—homeowners go with lesser repairs, which is not a repair with underpinnings.”

It’s unclear if that was the case with this home. However, we do know the home was sold in a short sale and the listing stated it was a repaired sinkhole home.

Records show the same realtor represented the seller and the buyer in the 2015 sale.

Bay News 9 called the realtor, but she had no comment. We also tried to reach out to the former homeowner, but the person who answered the phone hung up. 

This is a developing story, please check back for updates.