18-foot hole in Long Beach backyard (Stephen Carr/Press-Telegram) |
LONG BEACH -- A Long Beach family made a surprising discovery right in their own backyard -- an 18-feet-deep hole.
It happened at a home in the 100 block of East 36th Street.
John Steube, 39, and his 13-year-old son noticed the hole last Thursday night, after they heard their dog Snow crying and went outside to investigate.
Steube said the dog almost fell into the massive hole.
Steube is in a wheelchair due to injuries he suffered in a dirt bike accident 20 years ago.
He said he had been trimming tree branches in that area of the yard earlier in the day, and is lucky the ground didn't cave in then.
The hole is near an oil well that was drilled in 1925, according to the California State Department of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources.
The well was abandoned in 1950.
The State Department of Oil is now trying to figure out what caused the hole to open up.
It happened at a home in the 100 block of East 36th Street.
John Steube, 39, and his 13-year-old son noticed the hole last Thursday night, after they heard their dog Snow crying and went outside to investigate.
Steube said the dog almost fell into the massive hole.
Steube is in a wheelchair due to injuries he suffered in a dirt bike accident 20 years ago.
He said he had been trimming tree branches in that area of the yard earlier in the day, and is lucky the ground didn't cave in then.
The hole is near an oil well that was drilled in 1925, according to the California State Department of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources.
The well was abandoned in 1950.
The State Department of Oil is now trying to figure out what caused the hole to open up.
