Huge Sinkhole Opens Behind Pinole Retirement Home
PINOLE (KPIX 5) -- An enormous sinkhole has opened up on a street in Pinole and is threatening a large retirement community.
The wet weather has exacerbated a shifting soil condition behind the Bay Park Retirement Community on the 2600 block of Appian Way
"You could actually stand three people up in the hole," said Bay Park resident Sylvia Gott.
Gott has watched for weeks now as the sinkhole which has swallowed the access road behind the building has grown to about 50 feet wide.
"I'm very concerned about it," said Gott. "I'm glad they brought in the generator so quickly because we've been on generator power basically the whole time."
The mudslide clawed out a wide section of the road connecting the facility's front and back parking lots, taking with it the water, power and phone lines that supplied the building.
A Bay Parks spokesperson said they're working with the city of Pinole and a private contractor to fix the problem.
Authorities say so far, the building is not at risk of collapse and residents have not been evacuated. But as a precaution residents have stopped using an exercise room and dining hall closest to the slide.