APOPKA, Fla. – It's been one year since a sinkhole swallowed a home in Apopka. Family members were forced out and watched as it grew.
One year later, the Apopka sinkhole is now filled in. Family members have started building a new house in its place. The homeowners told News 6 they were forced to demolish their old home.
"If you can keep your family together, you can make a home out of anywhere," Garry Miller said.
Miller said it's all about keeping a positive outlook after a sinkhole 25 feet and growing opened up near his house on West Kelly Park Road. The growing hole happened exactly a year ago, swallowing at least half of the family's home.
Miller said it was the house they had lived in since 1969, and that the damage was so bad workers told him they would need to start completely over.
"We watched the whole thing go down. We watched them tear it down and haul it off, and we watched them fill up the hole," Miller said.
Now, 12 months later, what used to be a gaping hole is now just a lot of sand.
"It's not what we wanted to do. We're making due with what we got and moving on," Miller said.
Miller showed News 6 around his new construction, saying he pushed it back on his property just far enough away from where the sinkhole once was.
"I said there's sinkholes all over the state of Florida. There's nothing to say there's going to be another one here," Miller said.
He said a sinkhole isn't going to stop his family from starting over.
"It was just my lucky day. I'd rather hit the lottery, but I got a sinkhole instead," he said.
The new house should be done just in time for the holidays.