The iconic Moai statues in Easter Island, Chile have suffered permanent damage when a fire ripped through a part of the island this week.

The Associated Press reported that the blaze started because of a forest fire. This created high temperatures, which caused an acceleration in the process that eventually turned the iconic stone carvings into sand. Mayor Pedro Edmunds Paoa stated that the damage is "irreparable and immeasurable as well."

The high temperatures calcinated the stone from which the moai statues were made out of, and this led to several cracks forming. There are around 100 Moai statues around the area, and 20 percent have been damaged, according to the mayor.

Easter Island Fire Caused by Volcano, but Mayor Blames Cattle Farmers

According to CNN, the fire was caused by the nearby Rano Raraku volcano. The blaze began on Monday and razed over 100 hectares of land. Ariki Tepano, director of the indigenous Ma'u Henua community, which manages the Rapa Nui Natural Park, stated that the damage was "irreparable."

However, Mayor Pedro Edmunds Paoa claimed that the blaze was started deliberately by cattle and horse farmers, adding that they regularly burn grassland for grazing purposes.

The mayor also lamented that they lack the resources and prevention plans to avoid fires and accidents such as this one. He also accused the Chilean government of abandoning the island.

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Meanwhile, Ninoska Huki, who heads the island's local National Forest Corporation, had earlier admitted that Easter Island lacks firefighters.

Authorities have now closed the island to visitors, and an investigation is already underway as to what really caused the fire. According to Sky News, the fire came just three months after the island reopened to visitors on August 5. The island previously closed down to tourists due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before the pandemic, Easter Island used to attract around 160,000 visitors per year, thanks to those Moai statues.

Easter Island is known as the most remote inhabited island in the world, as it can be found 3,500 km (2,174 miles) off the coast of Chile. However, due to how far away it is from the mainland, it is often difficult to help the island out in times of emergency.

What are Easter Island's Moai Statues?

The Moai statues are the island's sacred stone figures. They were so important to the local indigenous culture that it was designated by the UN as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is located at the Rapa Nui National Park and is a symbol of the Rapa Nui culture.

The statues were theorized to have been made approximately 900 years ago when Polynesian seafarers arrived on the island, which they called Rapa Nui. CNN reported that recent studies suggested that these statues could be connected to where the island settlers found undersea freshwater springs.

UNESCO stated that the Polynesians who settled on the island managed to establish a "powerful, imaginative and original tradition of monumental sculpture and architecture, free from any external influence." This resulted in the Moai statues, which they said have "created an unrivaled landscape that continues to fascinate people throughout the world."

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Written by: Rick Martin

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