TikTok "Tunnel Girl" told to stop digging under Northern Virginia home
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Screenshot: @engineer.everything/TikTok
A TikToker nicknamed "Tunnel Girl" who went viral for building a tunnel system under her Northern Virginia house has been given a stop-work order by local officials.
Driving the news: The TikToker, who goes by the name Kala, posted a very dramatic video last week where she pulls over her Tesla to take a call, then later says zoning and inspection officials told her to stop working on the tunnel and that it needed to be evaluated by a professional engineer.
- Fox5 confirmed that a Northern Virginia town conducted a residential visit due to a suspected state building code violation. A town spokesperson said in a statement that officials are "working with the property owner to correct any violations and ensure that the property is safe and in compliance with the code."
State of play: The internet has been riveted by Kala's mole-core adventures since she began documenting them in 2022.
- Her first tunnel video outlines her plan to cut a hole into the wall of her subbasement, carve into the foundation's rock, and construct an elevator to lift building materials.
Since then, it appears she's constructed a full-on suburban mine which she says in a TikTok set to medieval tavern music is allowing her to mine stone for a future construction project: building a castle, of course.
- Currently, she has over 530,000 followers tagging along for her subterranean forays, many of which depict her jackhammering while wearing pearls and skirts.
This isn't Kala's first foray into extreme HGTV antics: She also built a four-story addition on the back of her home.
Yes, but: Many TikTok users have wondered: Is this safe? Do her neighbors know? And, uh, is this legal?
- Kala doesn't have formal training as an engineer, she told NBC in an interview — she's largely worked in IT and studied engineering handbooks and a FEMA manual on building shelters and safe rooms for the project.
- One of Kala's TikToks depicts a fire that erupted in the tunnel last year.
What they're saying: In a recent TikTok, journalist Aura Bogado called out what she sees as the danger and imbalanced power dynamics of Kala's project.
- Bogardo recently interviewed some of Kala's neighbors, many of whom she says are Spanish-speaking Central American migrants who didn't know about the tunnel project.
- Once Bogardo told them about the tunnel, she says they expressed concern about their health and safety and worried that reporting the project to authorities could put some at risk of deportation.
Meanwhile, Kala declined when she spoke with NBC to share information about whether she'd received the appropriate permits for the tunnel.
- She did say she's adhering to local guidelines for constructing emergency shelters and isn't digging under her neighbors' homes.
- Additionally, Kala says she has a good relationship with her neighbors and they're "well aware of my crazy antics," according to NBC.
Flashback: Washington's suburbs aren't strangers to underground tunnel digging. A Bethesda stock trader was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after a man he hired to dig tunnels for a nuclear fallout bunker under his home died in a 2017 fire.
What we're watching: Kala hasn't posted any new TikToks since she announced the pause on her tubor-like adventures, during which she also said she'd be working on getting the necessary approval to continue.
- But it's safe to say the internet is still invested: The TikTok #tunnelgirl hashtag has over 41 million views, and there's a subreddit dedicated to all things WTF is going on with Kala.