An unexpected jolt to start Friday morning in Fort Frances.

Residents were awakened unexpectedly at 5 a.m. by a huge blast.

It was a controlled explosion intended to bring down the former biomass boiler at the former Resolute Forest Products mill.

Unlike the demolition of the kraft mill last December, there was no public notification a blast was planned for this morning.

The building is now leaning on its side.

There had been local efforts to keep the structure standing.

Resolute Forest Products began using the 54-megawatt plant in 2009.

It was shut down just five years later when Resolute announced the closure of its Fort Frances operations.

The plant cost $90 million to construct, with the province contributing $23 million.