Easter Island statues damaged in island fire.

An fire swept through the island and seemed to have damaged some of the iconic and mysterious heads.

The article states it looks as if the fire was no accident.

Ariki Tepano, with the indigenous Ma'u Henua community that manages the park, said the fire had done "irreparable" damage to the site. "The moai are totally charred, and you can see the effect of the fire upon them," he said in a statement.

What a terrible thing.

Fire on easter island

This is a really #ty thing to do. These objects survived thousands of years only to be burned and disfigured on purpose?!

They are very cool and mysterious creations. I sure hope to learn the mysteries of the Moai and other ancient structures before I die.

they're surrounded by water how do they let it burn?
gods must be angry

a reply to: TheAlleghenyGentleman

There doesn’t seem to be any details on who started it. All they say is it was no accident.

Death to anyone that destroys our ancient monuments! I’m sick of these mofos trying to erase some of the coolest parts of our history.

the grass around them does not look that bad??
are they just trying to get money?

a reply to: buddha

Money..

They are carved from Basalt

so they will most likely never actually "burn"

a reply to: baddmove

To be fair, it must be tough on them since they depend on tourist money for their incomes. With all the travel restrictions going on, I'm surprised this didn't happen earlier.

that sucks.
it's a small island!

no one noticed any strangers?

inside job for sure.

a reply to: TheAlleghenyGentleman

"The effect the fire had on them" ???

Sooooo....some soot got onto the stone.

originally posted by: Type1338
a reply to: TheAlleghenyGentleman

"The effect the fire had on them" ???

Sooooo....some soot got onto the stone.

A number of them had patches of lichen and a certain patina.

c8.alamy.com...

st.depositphotos.com...

According to the Communist News Network,

The fire -- caused by the nearby Rano Raraku volcano -- started Monday and razed more than 100 hectares of the island, damaging its famous stone-carved statues known as 'Moai' which were created by a Polynesian tribe over 500 years ago, native officials reported.

CNN