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SANTIAGO, CHILE—A fire on Easter Island earlier this week has burned about 148 acres and damaged an unknown number of moai, according to a BBC News report. The nearly 1,000 megaliths were carved between A.D. 1400 and 1650 by the Rapa Nui people, who positioned them facing inland in a ring around the island. The largest weigh about 74 tons and stand more than 30 feet tall. The fire is thought to have been started deliberately near the Rano Raraku volcano. Pedro Edmunds, mayor of the island, said that the damage caused by the fire cannot be undone. To read about how the moai aided the island's agricultural productivity, go to "Around the World: Chile."
