Easter Island heads suffer irreparable damage after fire scorches the area, photos show

Aspen Pflughoeft

A fire on Easter Island caused severe damage to multiple iconic Easter Island heads, photos show.

The fire scorched about 250 acres of Easter Island, also known by its indigenous name Rapa Nui, the Municipalidad de Rapa Nui said in a news release on Oct. 5. The wildfire burned through the Rano Raraku crater, an area with wetlands and numerous Moai statues, commonly called Easter Island heads.

An unspecified number of Easter Island heads were scorched and irreparably damaged by the fire, officials said in another news release. Some damage is clearly visible on the statues, but officials on the island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean say the full consequences are even more extensive

The extent of the catastrophe is still being surveyed, officials said. The Rano Raraku crater contains nearly 30 Moai statues.

Fire damage can be seen on the Moai statue, the land around it scorched and brown.
Fire damage can be seen on the Moai statue, the land around it scorched and brown.
Two Easter Island heads sit on the fire-scorched ground.
Two Easter Island heads sit on the fire-scorched ground.
The crater on Easter Island after the fire was contained.
The crater on Easter Island after the fire was contained.

The mayor of Rapa Nui told Pauta, a local newspaper, that the unprecedented fire was human-caused, adding that firefighting efforts lacked the people and resources needed to protect the Easter Island heads.

CNN reported the fire was caused by a volcano on the island.

The Moai statues that were buried or partially buried were naturally protected from fire, the mayor said, but any statues on the surface were scorched by the blaze.

The Easter Island heads are located in the Rapa Nui National Park, according to the park’s website. The park has 887 Moai statues and 300 ceremonial platforms spread across the island, remnants of an extinct megalithic culture that were rediscovered in 1722 by a Dutch explorer.

Easter Island is about 2,200 miles west of the coast of Chile.

The fire burning at night on Easter Island.
The fire burning at night on Easter Island.
The remains of an Easter Island head overlooking the fire-scorched crater.
The remains of an Easter Island head overlooking the fire-scorched crater.
An Easter Island head laying on the burnt ground.
An Easter Island head laying on the burnt ground.

Facebook Translate was used to translate news releases from Municipalidad de Rapa Nui, and Google Translate was used to translate stories from Pauta.

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