Fire destroys 2 lawn mowers, damages others at Mesa Verde Country Club

A fire destroyed two lawn mowers and damaged several others inside a storage structure at Costa Mesa’s Mesa Verde Country Club on Monday evening.

Residents who live near the club, at 3000 Club House Road, reported seeing smoke rising from a storehouse on the 135-acre property. Costa Mesa fire crews began arriving just after 6 p.m. and put out the fire within a half-hour, said Fire Department Capt. Chris Coates.

Damage is estimated at $600,000, Coates said. The structure alone sustained about $50,000 in damage, he said.

The cause has not yet been determined.

The private country club kept about 30 vehicles – a mix of commercial-grade riding mowers and Cushman maintenance vehicles – inside the structure, along with fertilizer for golf course maintenance, Coates said.

The blaze, which erupted next to or inside one of the mowers, “was hot enough that it compromised the metal support beam and burned through the metal roof,” Coates said.

Two lawn mowers were destroyed and up to eight others sustained moderate damage. Several more vehicles were slightly damaged from the heat, Coates said.

“The Fire Department got on the scene quickly. They were able to limit the fire from spreading to additional vehicles,” he said.

The Fountain Valley Fire Department and Orange County Fire Authority assisted the Costa Mesa department in putting out the fire.