Obeah, Volcano? Jamaicans Speculate About Mystery Ground Fire in St Thomas
Ever since a video surfaced online showing a rather unusual fire emanating from the ground in the hills of St Thomas, there has been widespread speculation by many Jamaicans about its origin.
Going by numerous social media comments, it seems many believe is related to a volcano of some sort while there are others who are of the view the fire is linked to some form of sorcery such as Obeah.
A recent report by the Gleaner has shed some light on the mysterious fire and revealed some possible causes.
According to the report, Professor Simon Mitchell, head of the Department of Geology and Geography at the University of the West Indies, explained that, based on his viewing of the video and the descriptions provided to him by The Gleaner, there is no concrete evidence of volcanic activity.
“My initial thoughts of the video is that it’s a fire rather than anything volcanic. The stick went in and it did not catch light immediately, so it is probably hot down there, but if it was anything volcanic; if there was lava, as some people are saying, there would not be leaves sitting on top of it and things like that,” he explained.
He went on to explain what could have caused the burning in the earth.
“Probably, there is a series of wood material which has been covered up, and this can happen either naturally or unnaturally, and if a fire gets started, it can smoulder … not just days, but years. There is not much oxygen down there, but there is enough to keep it going, and it can just keep going and going,” he said.
Source: The Gleaner