Spectacular ‘firefall’ at Yosemite park lights up social media

Have you ever seen a waterfall on fire?

After “trying for years,” California neuropsychologist and photographer Sangeeta Dey finally saw the so-called “firefall,” a spectacle that occurs when the light hits the Horsetail waterfall in Yosemite National Park just right.

Only visible during a couple weeks in February, the water looks as if it’s ablaze when the light from the sun set hits it at exactly the right angle.

Her photos of the phenomenon have gone viral.

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“I am feeling overwhelmed with all the love and attention the photograph has received,” Dey wrote on her Facebook page.

The firefall is rare. National Geographic says the sunlight must hit the waterfall just right, and the waterfall must have enough water to fuel it, which isn’t always the case.

Dey told the magazine it was an emotional experience for her. She said she triggered the camera’s shutter remotely so she could watch the spectacle herself.

“For 10 minutes, all of us sat there mesmerized by this spectacle,” she wrote on Facebook.

“When it ended, a few of us had tears in our eyes. Some people were clapping. And others were just ecstatic to finally get a chance to see it after trying for years.”