Nearly 80 of Easter Island’s famous stone figures were damaged by a massive fire on October 5, local authorities said. The statues, known as moi and ranging in size from 6 to more than 30 feet, were affected by the fire that burned about 148 acres of Rapa Nui National Park on the island that is part of Chile. There are an estimated 416 moya in that area of the island.
Muay is made of lava, which is volcanic rock that is prone to fracture if exposed to high temperatures. A Polynesian community that settled in the area around the year 300 built shrines between the 10th and 16th centuries on what experts say was the most remote inhabited island on Earth.
Ariki Tepano, from the indigenous Ma’u Henua community that runs the park, said the fire caused “irreparable” damage to the site.
“The moai are completely burnt out and you can see the effect of the fire on them,” he said in a statement.
According to the Rapa Nui publication, the shortage of volunteers made it difficult to contain the fire.
Pedro Edmunds, mayor of Easter Island, attributed the origin of the fires to the burning of pastures “which some of the island’s horse and cattle keepers do”. The Minister of Agriculture, Esteban Valenzuela, announced on Friday that the cause of the fire will be investigated and that the National Forest Foundation of Chile (CONAF) will have a permanent forest brigade on Easter Island throughout the year.
From EL PAÍS International:
Ninosca Hockey, the county chief of Konav on Easter Island, explained to the Chilean news outlet La Tercera that the company “rents brigades during bushfire seasons, and this starts in the second half of October through April,” so the brigade was not active. Furthermore, Chile is one of the few countries in the world where firefighters work on a voluntary basis. It became increasingly difficult to persuade new young people to join the corps. From July 1, 2020 to April 21 this year, 60 forest or vegetation fires occurred on the island, 13% less than in the same period the previous year.
During his visit to Santiago, shortly after the island reopened to tourism after nearly two and a half years of lockdown due to the pandemic, the mayor met with Chilean President Gabriel Borek and some of his ministers to request an adjustment to Easter Island’s budget. Since Rapa Nui generates most of its income through tourism, the isolation has left the community “bankrupt,” according to the municipality. Of the 800 park rangers employed to prevent and clean fires and prevent tourists from damaging statues in the 16,000-hectare park, there are now only 120. The island now only receives three flights per week, for a total of 750 passengers, compared to the 14 flights that totaled 8,000 passengers before the shutdown. “Who will come to help put out the fires if you don’t pay them?” said the mayor, who did not get the needed budget adjustment.
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