Virginia officials inspect TikTok tunnel girl's viral project
HERNDON, Va. - A Virginia woman is gaining notoriety online after documenting a home project of digging a tunnel underneath her suburban home.
The woman does not disclose her full name online aside from what appears to be her first name, Kala, and has amassed more than 500,000 followers on TikTok.
One of the most watched videos on her TikTok account @engineer.everything was uploaded in August 2023 and had 7.6 million views at last check.
The video recapped her construction work over a year.
In the video, she said she used hundreds of concrete blocks for the 30-foot entrance. And the main chamber is 22 feet below ground, according to the woman.
Her videos are filled with comments from people who question how safe the process is, along with legality questions.
In response to the tunnel digging, FOX 5 received an email from the town of Herndon and a spokesperson said the town received notice of activity of potential violation of the Uniform Statewide Building Code that was occurring at a residential property within the town’s corporate limits.
"As is standard protocol following such notifications, representatives from the building official’s and zoning administrator’s offices conducted a site inspection on Thursday, December 7, 2023. The town is working with the property owner to correct any violations and ensure that the property is safe and in compliance with the code," an email to FOX 5 read.
FOX 5 received a tip on where this home is located, though we are not identifying where the neighborhood is. A woman answered the door Wednesday and confirmed "Kala" does live there, but she wasn’t home at the time. She did not answer any other questions.
One woman who lives near the home where the tunnel mining is happening said she recognized the home after seeing the videos on Reddit. She didn’t realize it was right before her own home.
"It’s kind of crazy. Kind of funny, not going to lie. But definitely I have some concerns with whatever she is doing and like, the area around us is soil and whatnot. Just making sure she’s not damaging the properties around," she said.
Another man, who asked FOX 5 to not identify him, said he’s noticed construction happening over the past few months.
"If remember correctly maybe last summer, I just started hearing like…not rock blasts…but just loud noises and some dude was like digging dirt out," he said.
FOX 5 also reached out to the woman who declined to comment further before her permit process is complete.