Oakland Hills Country Club Fire: 'Extensive Damage' To Clubhouse

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI — The historic Oakland Hills Country Club suffered "extensive damage" to its center, which includes the building's clubhouse, after a blaze engulfed nearly the entire building Thursday morning, Bloomfield Township Fire Chief John LeRoy told reporters.

Fire crews were first alerted about the fire at 9:17 a.m., when people inside the clubhouse reported smelling smoke, Leroy said. Firefighters initially had a difficult time finding the fire, because of the clubhouse's massive structure, which is 110,000 square feet.

But firefighters eventually found the fire in the clubhouse's attic, after drilling holes through its ceiling, to which they discovered the entire attic ablaze, Leroy said. The fire progressed quickly and was soon "running all the way across the building," and was fully engulfed by mid-afternoon.

In addition to getting the resources in place to fight the fire once it was located, LeRoy said the weather and water main issues contributed to the problems allowing the fire to spread so rapidly. He also noted the entire building is the second largest wooden-framed building in Michigan, only behind the Mackinac Island Grand Hotel.

"The difficulty we have with this fire, I believe this is the second-biggest wood-frame building in the state of Michigan," Leroy said. "It has extensively been adding onto over the years making it very difficult to stop the fire or compartmentalize it."

Officials did not know how many people were inside the clubhouse when the fire started, as the building has been undergoing renovations, but everyone was able to get out and no injuries were reported while over a dozen fire stations sent crews to battle the fire, Leroy said.

Although the fire destroyed much of the building, including its center where the clubhouse, restaurants and offices were located, LeRoy did say firefighters were able to save some memorabilia from the clubhouse.

"We had some mutual aid crews that were instructed where the things were, since (the fire) was in the attic at the time," LeRoy said. "They were able to get to locations they could get to quickly, pull that memorabilia out and hand it to the club members at the front door and go back in."

Officials have not disclosed any details or what caused the fire. Patch has reached out to the Bloomfield Township Fire Department as well as several other fire stations that were battling the fire for more details and will update when we hear back.

Oakland Hills, which opened in 1916 has a storied history. The golf course has hosted six U.S. Opens, three PGA championships and a Ryder Cup, among other major events. Golf greats including Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Ben Hogan have competed and won on the famed South Course, known better in the sport as "The Monster."