For two weeks out of the year, Yosemite National Park’s Horsetail Falls catches the setting sun just right and transforms into an explosion of beautiful reds and yellows and oranges. The event attracts photographers and tourists from all over the world and has led to the coining of the nickname Firefall.
The waterfall, located in northern California, is an especially spectacular sight this year due to the incredibly high amounts of precipitation recently falling in the state. In fact, California has received a whopping 228% more precipitation than normal. The rains seem particularly heavy when compared to the recent 5-year drought the state has been experiencing since 2011.
While the historic rainfall is causing a host of serious problems across California including flooding, mudslides, and widespread property damage and injury, the conditions have also made the falls even more brilliant than ever.