Flames gutted the abandoned clubhouse of the former Club de golf Le Mémorial in Shawinigan on Sunday morning, leaving behind a towering smoke plume visible from the city’s downtown.
Emergency crews received a call at 8:50 a.m. regarding a fire at the vacant pavilion located on rang Saint-Mathieu in the Shawinigan-Sud sector, according to Radio-Canada.
Pierre Giguère first spotted the smoke and alerted his daughter before contacting 911, noting that an alarm had already sounded. regarde ‘pa, la fumée his daughter told him, as reported by Le Nouvelliste.
Heavy rocks blocking the roadway prevented fire vehicles from reaching the clubhouse directly.
Using his own tractor, Pierre Giguère cleared the path so that roughly 20 firefighters from the Shawinigan fire service could access the blaze.
A mechanical shovel was later brought in to finish operations, and firefighters were still tackling the final flames when Radio-Canada arrived around 11 a.m.
Un incendie à l’ancien club de golf Mémorial de Shawinigan rc.ca/TWFQ4w pic.twitter.com/a6QJxcKLha
The vacant structures previously suffered more than 150 000 $ in vandalism damage in 2023.
The land is owned by Annie Gilbert, who bought it from the Buisson family in 2018.
The site carries deep local history, having served as the home course for regional golf professionals including Jocelyne and Gilles Bourassa.
In 1973, Jocelyne Bourassa became the first Canadian to win an LPGA tour event, establishing the club’s legacy before her death in 2021.
Longtime community members gathered to watch the scene with sorrow. A cyclist remarked that their youth was flying away.
Former employee Martin Jacques accompanied Lise Bourassa—sister to Jocelyne and Gilles—as she surveyed the desolate ground.
Lise Bourassa noted that the course once attracted visitors from places as far away as New York.
News of the Sunday morning blaze prompted media inquiries from Montreal and New York.
