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Families who were forced to evacuate their homes after a sinkhole opened Friday night in a yard off Clay Pit Road will not be allowed to move back in pending an assessment by an engineer.

Because the hole is on private property, it’s the residents’ responsibility to bring in a geotechnical engineer to check out the hole, said Jon-Paul Lavandeira, director of Hillsborough County’s rapid response team. Until then, county officials will monitor the area.

They have asked residents to stay away from the depression, which has grown since the initial report that it was 27 feet deep and 22 feet wide, Lavandeira said Saturday afternoon, although he couldn’t say how much. It has moved toward the home and duplex that were already evacuated, so no additional residents have been displaced, he added.