DRAPER, Utah — A Utah family was forced out of their home in October after it was deemed unsafe. They thought they would get to move back in eventually — but overnight, their nightmare became reality.
Shock went through a Draper neighborhood early Saturday morning as two homes slid off a cliff.
Where Eric and Carole Kamradt’s forever home once stood, all that's now left is dirt, debris and disappointment.
“This has just been really horrible,” said their daughter, Amanda Wardlow. “Having your house collapsing on itself — that sort of stress, it’s overwhelming.”
WATCH: 2 houses in Draper slide off cliff into canyon
No one was hurt. Both homes that slid had been previously deemed unsafe to live in. Those families had their certificates of occupancy revoked by the City of Draper on Oct. 25. The city fenced off the Kamradts' property and their neighbors, and told them to leave.
“We wanted to make sure we were extra cautious. And certainly now, that was the right decision,” said David Dobbins with the City of Draper.
Around 1 a.m. Saturday morning, neighbors called 911 when they heard rumbling sounds. One home and half of another on Springtime Road came crashing down.
Less than a year after the Kamradts moved into the home where they hoped to retire in the Hidden Canyon Estates neighborhood, they knew something was wrong.
“The drywall was cracking, you can hear lots of pops in the roof, there were cracks in the driveway, the ground was moving underneath the lawn,” explained Wardlow.
FOX 13 INVESTIGATES: Utah city tells families to get out of their new homes
“This used to be a ravine, and when the developer wanted to build on it, they had to obviously bring in fill dirt and fill to make it buildable," Dobbins said. "And their engineers designed a plan that they thought would work."
The two homes next to the collapsed houses were evacuated because they are in danger of collapsing as well.
In a letter shared with FOX 13 News by the family from November, the developer, Edge Homes, said they disagree with the city’s decision.
"The independent experts had confirmed the homes were structurally sound and that the helical piers we installed effectively stopped the homes from additional settlement/movement," the letter read in part.
The city added that this year’s snowpack coupled with the initials problems could have led to the slide.
“Just over the last several weeks, we noticed additional movement, so we think that the rain and moisture just got too much,” said Dobbins.
After the collapse, Edge Homes sent FOX 13 a statement saying in part: “Due to record snowfall and winter conditions, efforts to stabilize and repair the homes were put on hold until after the spring runoff. obviously, the homes are no longer salvageable.”
The family who owned the house next to the Kamradts — which also collapsed Saturday — sold their home back to the developer. The Kamradts did not, and they have been paying for a rental apartment and the mortgage on their dream home. Now, they look at an empty lot in its place.
“It’s extremely difficult to cope with, so I really hope that Edge can come out and apologize, and take some responsibility and accountability,” said Wardlow.
Also buried with what used to be their home were priceless memories.
“All of my baby pictures, everything that I had as a child, all of our photo albums, we were actually coming today to come remove those items from the home," Wardlow said. "We drove by a few times and noticed that the house was really starting to sag in the middle, and so we were, like, getting desperate: 'We need to get all these items out.' Obviously, we came a day too late.”
On Sunday, Draper Police Department said they have had people trespassing in prohibited areas near the slide and the two adjacent houses. They warned that those who do so could receive citations. That includes Ann's Trail and Clark's Trail, which are both closed due to the slide, and any other fenced-off or otherwise prohibited areas around the condemned homes.
