Back in the 1960s we went to Yosemite every year or two. The Rangers actually set up a huge bonfire at the top of the cliff and down in the valley we would attend a Ranger presentation around a campfire in the evening. Then, around 9pm, our speaker would turn to shout out toward the cliff, “let the fire fall” and up top they would push the entirety of the bonfire over the edge. An experience of a lifetime which I had the joy of witnessing many times. The visual of a true fire fall cascading thousands of feet down the cliff face is a gorgeous sight that few still alive have ever seen. I know they put an end to the practice sometime after we left California and was disappointed to learn that I could never share this spectacle with my new family the first time I returned in the 90s.
Frodo79 t1_ixpdjg2 wrote
Reply to Yosemite Firefall [OC] [3784x4730] by ericjon23
Back in the 1960s we went to Yosemite every year or two. The Rangers actually set up a huge bonfire at the top of the cliff and down in the valley we would attend a Ranger presentation around a campfire in the evening. Then, around 9pm, our speaker would turn to shout out toward the cliff, “let the fire fall” and up top they would push the entirety of the bonfire over the edge. An experience of a lifetime which I had the joy of witnessing many times. The visual of a true fire fall cascading thousands of feet down the cliff face is a gorgeous sight that few still alive have ever seen. I know they put an end to the practice sometime after we left California and was disappointed to learn that I could never share this spectacle with my new family the first time I returned in the 90s.