Well, folks, in just under 2 weeks, the Four Sisters will be coming down.

Those of you who live or lived in Toronto at one point, or who have sailed Lake Ontario, or driven to Toronto from the 'States will know what I'm talking about. Those of you who are not from Toronto will probably be scratching your heads and thinking, "Four Sisters? What the heck is he talking about?"

No, it's not a visit from the in-laws, it's the Ontario Power Generation Lakeview Generating Site.
Its four huge smokestacks were used as landmarks for sailors crossing Lake Ontario in every direction, and were especially useful in getting yourself home from Niagara Falls or Port Boozy...Sorry, I meant Dalhousie, and in a few weeks (actually in 11 days) they will be gone forever. Yet another change on the face of Ontario. What they will be replaced with is anyone's guess, but I'm going to say a collection of god-awful condominiums will shortly spring up to take their place.

The four huge white smokestacks of the Lakeview Generating Plant were silenced in February of 2006 after over 43 years of continuous service. All the employees there were laid off, and the plant was stripped to the walls of all available materiel. Now that OPG has moved away from coal-fired plants, under increasing pressure from environmental groups and lobbyists, the plant was shut 4 years ahead of schedule, but sufficient power generation to replace its lost capacity is not yet in place. It was originally supposed to have been shut in 2010, but closed early under increasing pressure from environmentalists who have blocked additional creation and building of replacement power plants, potentially leaving Ontario with yet MORE shortages and rolling brownouts this summer if we are not careful. How such short-sightedness was permitted is beyond me, but I suppose if you needed the votes that badly, it's a concession you would have to make.

Anyrood, for those folks what like 'splosions, the plant will be demolished via implosion on Monday, June 12, 2006 at approximately 0800h, but actual zero hour could be as early as 0730h if the demolitions crew doesn't hit any unforeseen snags. All I know is that come 0715h I'll be knocking on my friends condo door on the 10th floor to get in to set up a video camera to get it all on tape. With any luck, it will be a clear morning and I'll be able to get some spectacular shots of the demolition. If it's not a clear day, darn it, I'll just have to drive down to the nearest park to see it for myself! :D