The owners of the 4,000-square-foot mansion currently dangling off a cliff near Texas' Lake Whitney decided to hasten their home's demise by setting it on fire Friday afternoon.

Owners Denise and Robert Webb made the decision after consulting demolition experts and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to Hill County emergency management coordinator Tom Hemrick.

The fire was set in the garage, which workers filled with hay ahead of time. It quickly spread to other parts of the house, which crumbled in flames to the lake below. Firefighters estimate it will take four to six hours to burn.

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

Once the debris has stopped burning, the Webbs will have it, along with the home's foundation, removed to stable land.

[Image via Fox Dallas]