Fire quickly extinguished at the clubhouse of closed Municipal Golf Course in Modesto
Firefighters quickly contained a Friday morning fire at the Modesto Municipal Golf Course clubhouse, according to a Fire Department incident summary report.
The city closed the nine-hole golf course in west Modesto about two and a half years ago. The summary report states firefighters arrived just after 7 a.m. to find the vacant clubhouse on fire. There were no injuries, and the fire’s cause is under investigation.
No other information was available over the weekend.
Fires have become common in recent years at Modesto’s park and recreation facilities. Some of the blazes include:
▪ The early-morning July fire that gutted the city’s American Legion Memorial Hall in Tuolumne River Regional Park. The fire remains under investigation, though investigators have said homeless people may have started it. The fire could have been a cooking or warming fire that got out of control or it could have been deliberate.
▪ The August 2020 late-night fire that caused extensive damage at the Dryden Park Golf Course clubhouse. A Police Department spokeswoman has said the cause is undetermined.
▪ The July 2021 fire at the outbuilding at the McClure Mansion, an 1881 farmhouse the city acquired in the early 1970s.
▪ The 2019 fire at American Legion Memorial Hall annex, which was known as the Little Legion Hall. The annex was beyond repair and was demolished.
This is partial list and does not include vegetation fires in city parkland.
Modesto closed its Municipal Golf Course because it could no longer afford three city-owned courses. The city held meetings Tuesday and Wednesday of last week to solicit public comment on a concept plan of housing, commercial development and recreation at the 54-acre site.
The vast majority of people who spoke favored using the golf course for open space and recreation.
These were the third and fourth meetings the city has held on the redevelopment of the golf course. City officials now will review the comments from last week’s meetings and determine the city’s next steps.
