A Utah home collapsed, and the dramatic moment was captured in a video that has gone viral.
The heart-stopping video capturing the moment a Utah home in Hidden Canyon Estates succumbed to a collapsing hillside has rapidly spread across the internet. The footage reveals the upper portion of a large two-story house sliding down the steep slope, with emergency responders watching in dismay.
The unstable hillside has been gradually encroaching on two properties on East Springtime Road over the past few months. The home’s collapse, which began on a Saturday night, culminated in the complete disappearance of the top floor.
Carole Kamradt, a homeowner affected by the hillside’s instability, shared her family’s distress with a local news outlet. They had occupied their new home for less than a year when they were forced to evacuate due to the hazardous conditions in October of the previous year.
Local authorities revoked the certificates of occupancy for both homes, and Draper officials have since been monitoring the precarious situation. The officials now believe that neighboring properties are also at risk.
City representatives attribute the issue to earth shifting, and various experts, such as engineers, public safety officers, and building officials, have been assessing the situation. After careful evaluation, they determined that two additional homes on either side of the evacuated properties must also be evacuated. Residents have been alerted to the imminent danger and are in the process of relocating.
The widely-circulated video depicts firefighters near the home as its second floor plummets onto Ann’s Trail below.
Edge Homes, the company responsible for building the houses, has faced significant backlash due to building on unstable land. In January, a court mandated that the company repurchase the affected homes. Edge Homes has since committed to fairly compensating the homeowners for the difficulties and upheaval they have endured.
In her conversation with the news outlet, Kamradt expressed how the calamity had shattered her family, forcing them to start anew and search for a different place to call home.
The incident has raised broader concerns about the safety of homes constructed on unstable terrain, prompting authorities to reevaluate building regulations to better protect homeowners in the future.