Huge Fire Engulfs Historic Louisiana Golf Club

A fire at a historic Louisiana golf club that has been closed for several years broke out on Saturday afternoon.

Per KTBS.com, At 3.45pm local time, the fire was reported at the clubhouse of Shreveport Country Club, with thick black smoke seen in the area.

According to the report, firefighters from Shreveport Fire Department arrived within minutes of multiple 911 calls being made, where they found the building engulfed in flames.

A second alarm brought additional units to the scene, with fire crews using aerial ladder trucks to tackle the inferno from above and ground crews to prevent the fire from spreading. In total, 75 firefighters tackled the blaze and no injuries were reported.

The fire is the latest chapter of a lengthy decline for a club that opened in 1909 before gaining a reputation as one of the best in Louisiana.

Big names from golf who graced the 18-hole championship course through the years included local stars David Toms and Hal Sutton.

Meanwhile, Shreveport Country Club also had other facilities, including a pool, 10 tennis courts and multiple restaurants.

In 2009, months after the former private club had been turned over to a nonprofit outreach arm of Shreveport Community Church, the results of a six-figure renovation to the clubhouse and golf course were revealed at an open house.

That suggested the club had a bright future, but it wasn’t to be, with its doors shutting just seven years later, in October 2016.

At the time, local pastor Rev. Denny Duron, whose nonprofit took over the club, explained why it had shut. Per KSLA News 12, he said: “The club was, you know, it was just not, we weren't paying the bills."

The closure meant 28 employees were laid off while around 200 memberships were cancelled.

In 2017, the 200-acre property was put up for sale with an asking price of $4.3m. However, hopes of redeveloping it for residential or commercial purposes failed to materialize, leaving it unused.

Following the fire, Louisiana State Senator Sam Jenkins told KTBS: "I would say to the owner, let this be a warning to all of us what happens when properties just sit vacant, blighted, neglected.

"Let's come together and see if we can do something meaningful with this property and help the residents fo this neighborhood."

The cause of the fire is unknown, but anyone with information is asked to contact Shreveport-Caddo Crime Stoppers at (318) 673-7373.