Angler loses home in Tennessee fires

Tim Malone loads up his bass boat as flames race down the hill towards his home.

This week has been a devastating one for the East Tennessee, with out-of-control wildfires raging near the Gatlinburg area. While thousands of lives have been affected, one in particular stands out to the bass fishing community – Opens and FLW angler Tim Malone. Malone lost his house completely in the fire, but he and his family are safe. Read Malone’s harrowing account of the evening here. A relative of Malone has set up a GoFundMe page and while bass fishing is probably the last thing on their minds, it’s good to know that his boat got out with him. 

Tournament Director Trip Weldon let us know that he was in contact with all Elite Series anglers in the area, including Ott DeFoe, David Walker, Brandon Coulter and David Mullins, and has not heard of any of them facing anything like Malone. 

Below are some photos of Malone’s house after the fires had passed.