Chemainus golf course fire may keep some golfers off the greens

CHEK

WATCH: Insurance companies and golf club members were assessing the damage Thursday after a major fire at a Chemainus golf course. A storage shed housing more than 100 golf carts at Mount Brenton Golf Course was completely destroyed and investigators continue to search for a cause. Kendall Hanson reports.

There is nothing worth saving after a fire destroyed a storage shed at Mount Brenton Golf Course Wednesday afternoon.

Black smoke could be seen kilometres away as a massive fire ravaged a shed that housed up to 150 golf carts.

The intensity surprised those who saw it.

“We just came down that hill and this huge plume of black smoke was just going straight up into the sky like somebody had dropped a bomb,” said witness Andrea Pollock. “It was terrifying.”

Pollock and her husband were driving down nearby Henry Road when they saw the fire.

“It was fully engulfed. It was just red and orange and really hot and I saw the flames going whoosh right up to the top of these trees,” said Pollock.

Embers even started a fire across the street. Twenty firefighters from Crofton, Chemainus and Ladysmith fire halls were needed to bring the fire under control.

“They weren’t going to be able to save the building and they were keeping the flames down and stopping the trees from burning up. I thought they did a great job,” said Pollock.

On Thursday, many came by to see firsthand what is left.

The club’s members own the golf course and it was primarily their golf carts that were destroyed in the blaze.

 

Fourteen carts did arrive at the course’s pro shop this afternoon. The shop lost 11 of its rental carts in the fire.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation but because of the amount of damage, Chemainus’ fire chief suspects determining a cause might not be possible.

Kendall HansonKendall Hanson

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