Overview
- Fire crews responded to a call just before 5:30 a.m. Thursday and extinguished the flames after relocating access, but the 18-foot statue did not survive.
- The Austin Fire Department said investigators are working to determine what started the fire and have released no definitive cause.
- Malin was installed in March 2024 by Danish artist Thomas Dambo with about 150 Austin volunteers and was built mainly from recycled local wood and parts from a decommissioned water tower.
- The Pease Park Conservancy said the troll was meant to remind the community to share water and resources with wildlife and that its loss has left the conservancy and neighbors heartbroken.
- Similar work by Dambo has been targeted before: a troll in Australia was set on fire in 2022 and later replaced, which could shape local debates about preservation, security, and whether Malin will be rebuilt.