The Denver Fire Department responded to a grass fire at the Park Hill Golf Course on Sunday night just before 11 p.m.
"Our best guess is about five acres burned," wrote Denver Fire Department spokesperson J.D. Chism.
The department sent six engine companies, a rescue company and a brush truck to douse the fire.
Denver Fire doesn't know the cause of the blaze.
"With the hot dry weather, there is always potential for larger grassy areas to burn," Chism wrote. "The incident commander said the cart paths helped to keep the fire from spreading further, additionally the roads that surround the course generally provide a good natural barrier in these types of situations."
The fire did not damage the homes backed up against the southeast side of the golf course.
Westside Investment Partners purchased the Park Hill Golf Course property for $24 million in 2019, hoping to build a massive development along Colorado Boulevard.
The development would have brought more than 3,000 homes, room for a grocery store and Denver's fourth largest park to the site.
A conservation easement mandates the land must be an 18-hole, regulation length golf course for as long as that's feasible. The purpose: Preserve open space.
To overturn that conservation easement required a vote of the people. The public voted on three separate measures — two indirectly and one directly tied to the possible golf course development. In all three, voters said no to Westside.
Nobody's played golf on the golf course for several years. But during the pandemic, the company pushed for good will from the community and allowed residents access to wander the greens.
After the voters shot down the development, Westside fenced off the land.
"Because the Park Hill easement is unambiguous, the land will return to a privately-owned, regulation-length 18-hole golf course," said Bill Rigler, a spokesperson for the developers and the Yes on 2O campaign, after the election. "The site will immediately be closed to public use or access, with no housing, community grocery store, or public parks allowed on this site, in accordance with the will of the voters."
Over more than a year, the greens browned as grass grew tall and weeds went to seed.
Complaints about the state of the golf course date back to July 2023.
A year later, Denverite readers are still asking what's going on with the land.
Buildings have deteriorated. Parts of the property are graffitied. And the land looks like a tinder box.
So what's going on — other than fires?
Mayor Mike Johnston says he's in negotiations with the company about the future of the defunct golf course. He pledged a deal by the end of the year.
During his campaign for mayor, he said he would acquire the land and turn it into a public amenity.
Westside has not responded to Denverite's requests for comment about either the land's future or this latest fire.
Will Westside face repercussions for the 155 acres of dry, flammable grass?
"At this point, I don’t anticipate any action against the property owners," Chism wrote.
