Fire at Juday Creek Golf Course in Granger contained, family plans to rebuild

GRANGER — The clubhouse of a family-owned golf course erupted into flames Monday morning, causing multiple fire departments to gather in a four-hour-long effort to extinguish the fire and the family mourned their loss.

A person walking through a Granger subdivision first reported the fire at Juday Creek Golf Course, but by the time firefighters arrived shortly after 6 a.m., the fire had grown.

"There was an advanced fire when we got on scene," Clay Fire Territory Chief Jaren Killian said.

As firefighters entered through the front door, a standard tactic, he said, fire had burned through the floor and was extending to the attic. He called it a well-involved fire, especially for a building that size. One firefighter suffered minor injures, but, Killian said, he returned back to work Monday morning. No one was inside at the time of the fire and no other injuries were reported.

In addition to the fire, crews faced a water shortage because of a lack of fire hydrants in the Granger subdivision, Juday Creek Estates.

The fire departments took control of nearby roadways to shuttle water in from Howard Township, Mich.; Madison Township and Cleveland Township.

"There's been a lot of water that we've had to bring on site and shuttle water here," Killian said.

At 9 a.m., Killian said there was a tremendous amount of heat still in the structure. Fire control was their main objective, he said, before they begin investigating the origin of the fire. Smoke lingered above the Indiana Toll Road and into the surrounding neighborhoods.

Firefighters will also work toward salvage and overhaul, Killian said, as they try to get as much as they can out of the structure.

The newly-renovated clubhouse was a place for gatherings, company banquets and wedding receptions, Killian said, including where Clay Fire has held departmental banquets.

"This building represents a significant place in our community," he said, though he anticipates the fire will result in a significant amount of loss.

The golf course's general manager, Michelle Wittig, thought about what had been destroyed, including the new white and blue wallpaper they had finished in April and a special Michigan State football game virtual family photo hung on a wall. Her uncle had done a lot of the work with the expensive renovations, she said, and was in tears when he saw the ruins.

"My first thought was maybe they can get some of it out and they can save some things, but that's not going to happen," Wittig said.

She called her mother, State Sen. Linda Rogers, R-District 11, who owns the golf course with her family. After viewing what was left of the club house, Rogers said she was devastated.

"No one was hurt. That's the most important thing," Rogers said. "I'm just grateful for all of the firefighters that have come from all over the area to help."

Wittig said the golf course will stay closed Monday, but she hopes to open it Tuesday. She thought back to how they operated during COVID, she said, planning to set up a trailer, do sales online and still run the golf course. She planned to still provide a service to customers that way.

"We move on," Wittig said. "Everyone's safe."

"It's devastating, but we'll rebuild," Rogers said.

Killian doesn't know when the fire will be fully extinguished. He said that the cause of the fire remains undetermined and an investigation by the Indiana State Fire Marshal is underway. By 10 a.m., fire crews were working on addressing "hot spot" areas due to the design of the structure. He plans to send fire crews every couple of hours for the next 24 hours to monitor the situation.

Email Tribune staff writer Camille Sarabia at csarabia@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Family owned golf course in ruins by fire; investigation underway