Burning down the house! Texas homeowners burn down luxury 4,000-foot mansion

  • A couple burned down their vacant luxury home teetering atop a crumbling 75-foot cliff over a Central Texas lake
  • The 4,000-square-foot house to be demolished Friday overlooks Lake Whitney, about 60 miles south of Fort Worth
  • House has been condemned and owners Denise and Robert Webb evacuated the property about two weeks ago

By Associated Press

A Texas couple burned down their vacant luxury home teetering atop a crumbling 75-foot cliff over a Central Texas lake on Friday.

The 4,000-square-foot house overlooks Lake Whitney, about 60 miles south of Fort Worth.

The house has been condemned and owners Denise and Robert Webb evacuated the property about two weeks ago. Chunks of the cliff — and the $700,000 home — have been tumbling into the water.

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Crash and burn: The dramatic fire is seen here on the edge of Lake Whitney

Crash and burn: The dramatic fire is seen here on the edge of Lake Whitney

Smoke: Billowing black smoke seen covering the front of the couple's home

Debris is seen falling from the gated community home in White Bluff

Debris is seen falling from the gated community home in White Bluff

Fiery: a second fire erupted after debris from the home fell off of the cliff

Fiery: a second fire erupted after debris from the home fell off of the cliff

Spectacle: A group of friends float in the water by their boat as they watch the house burn on the cliff edge

Spectacle: A group of friends float in the water by their boat as they watch the house burn on the cliff edge

Inferno: A thick column of smoke rises above the house as an intense fire rips through the building

Inferno: A thick column of smoke rises above the house as an intense fire rips through the building

Getting ready: Crews use a cherry picker to prepare to set the house on fire

Getting ready: A team prepares to burn down the home

Getting ready: A team prepares to burn down the home

Going in: A crane was seen moving into the home's garage

Going in: A crane was seen moving into the home's garage

Workers were seen on camera preparing for the house's destruction. A crane was filmed going into the home's garage, and two workers were later seen on top of the crane smashing the home's windows in.

Some time later, they were seen back inside the garage, ripping off parts of it. Hay was also seen placed inside the garage to aid with the fire's spread. 

Homeowners Denise and Robert Webb spoke to WTSP about the decision to burn down their home.

'It's gone. It's just gone,' Denise Webb said. 'And you don't see how something that huge can just disintegrate right in front of your face.'

'It's, it's really tough -- that house was special and I don't even know why it was so special but ti was special to me,' she also said.

Smash: Construction workers soon moved the crane up to the home's windows

Smash: Construction workers soon moved the crane up to the home's windows

Smashed: The home's front windows were destroyed by the workers before the scheduled fire

Smashed: The home's front windows were destroyed by the workers before the scheduled fire

'You know, that's my life there that we're watching fall off,' Robert Webb told the station. 'Until you see it... sitting with what was your yard, gone. The deck that you used to sit on a chair and look at the lake. Uh you know, it's gone.'

'I wanted to leave that to my grandchildren. It's a big hit,' he added.

The Webbs told WTSP that they bought the home 'in good faith' and were told it was habitable.

On the property's lawn a stone arrangement from above read 'We [heart] Nana + Papa.'

More work: The crane was seen again in the massive home's garage

More work: The crane was seen again in the massive home's garage

Going in: Parts of the garage were filmed being torn down

Going in: Parts of the garage were filmed being torn down

Tom Hemrick, Hill County's emergency management coordinator, says the Webbs decided to burn the house to its slab foundation after consulting with demolition experts and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Hemrick says the Webbs will have the charred debris moved to stable land and crews will remove the slab.

The residence was built in 2007.

Destroyed: A message for Denise and Robert Webb was seen on the day of the fire

Destroyed: A message for Denise and Robert Webb was seen on the day of the fire

Ignited: The crew workers are seen lighting the garage on fire

Ignited: The crew workers are seen lighting the garage on fire

The flames quickly take hold of the garage

The flames quickly take hold of the garage

Destruction: The house is seen engulfed in flames

Destruction: The house is seen engulfed in flames

Workers were seen throwing sparks into the garage and it quickly became engulfed in flames. The fire soon spread to the back of the house. Parts of the home were seen falling off of the high cliff and down to the bottom.

That debris started a smaller fire on the ground, as a large black tower of smoke rose from the destroyed home.

Soon, the fire burned enough of the house down to reveal its interior structure. 

Over several hours, the roof, followed by the second and first floors, fell apart. Gradually the first-floor walls fell apart, leaving behind only charred remains.

After the fire was nearly finished, leaving just a trail of smoke, onlookers were seen walking near the structure, examining the former luxury home.

Rear view: The back of the house, which has already seen parts of it fall off the cliff, starts to burn as well

Rear view: The back of the house, which has already seen parts of it fall off the cliff, starts to burn as well

Flames soon cover the back of the roof

Flames soon cover the back of the roof

Dangerous: The home quickly erupted into flames as onlookers watched

Dangerous: The home quickly erupted into flames as onlookers watched

Legacy: Robert Webb said he wanted to leave the home to his children

Legacy: Robert Webb said he wanted to leave the home to his children

A firetruck was seen on hand for the day's events

A firetruck was seen on hand for the day's events

Wreckage: Ruins from the home were seen flying off of the cliff, starting a smaller fire below

Wreckage: Ruins from the home were seen flying off of the cliff, starting a smaller fire below

The roof and second floor are seen falling apart

The roof and second floor are seen falling apart

Half off: the Lake Whitney home is seen in ruins

Half off: the Lake Whitney home is seen in ruins

More and more of the home collapses

More and more of the home collapses

Scraps: The fire continues to rage on the Webb residence

Scraps: The fire continues to rage on the Webb residence

Aerial: This overhead angle captures the slow burn

Aerial: This overhead angle captures the slow burn

Parts of the back wing still stand in this photograph

Parts of the back wing still stand in this photograph

Shell of its former self: the remannts of the home are in stark contrast to its fully standing neighbor

Shell of its former self: the remannts of the home are in stark contrast to its fully standing neighbor

Slowly more and more the outer walls collapse

Slowly more and more the outer walls collapse

Onlookers stand a safe distance away and look at the now-demolished home

Onlookers stand a safe distance away and look at the now-demolished home

Dangerous: The house has been condemned and the owners have vacated the property

Dangerous: The house has been condemned and the owners have vacated the property

The comments below have not been moderated.

Luxury? more tacky.

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Who is going to clear up the mess left

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Such a shame, I really feel for the couple, just tragic that they had to lose this house..

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The only thing that I can add, is that it must have been a lovely place to live before the earth started to move and make the property unstable.

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It was built on a chalk cliff - chalk cliffs stay white because chunks continually fall off them...don't buy a house on a chalk cliff!

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The lib-Tards are going to be mad at the smoke getting into the atmosphere. They will picket and boycott.

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Why couldn't any of it been recycled. Burning it is wasteful & pollutes the planet at the same time! Shameful

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Why does DM not report the story properly that you have to read comments on why it was condemned! !

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What? you can't see the obvious from the photo's? Its hanging over a cliff that's collapsed mate - burning it was the quickest and safest way of demolition here.

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Get a clue people. If they try to salvage the house the worker's lives would be at risk. To demolish or move the house you would obviously need heavy equipment to do so and I do not believe the ground would support the weight and vibrations. Even without heavy equipment the vibrations of the people working in the house trying to salvage material could also make the cliff collapse further into the lake. Save your anti-American comments for another post. You are losing your credibility.

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Although no one died, this kind of thing can put you in an early grave. How tragic these people put their all into something that is going to cost them dearly or may not recover from the loses. It doesnt give you the time back you lost. Some one really screwed up on this decision to built a neighborhood.

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