This was the view around 5pm yesterday evening as the sun went down over a huge fire that had been raging since before dawn.

According to The Star, around 4am, firefighters were called to the meat-packing plant along St. Clair West (West) out past Keele Ave. By mid-day it was escalated to a 3-alarm blaze. By afternoon, 5-alarm. While I don't know the specifics behind the rating system, that is one hell of a blaze (no pun intended).

Residents of the area have been evacuated because of the smoke levels in the air (which can been seen from kilometres away). If you have business in the area, you may want to plan an alternate route. Heading west, you can get as far as the Canadian Tire, so take a route south on Keele and use Dundas to get to Runnymede or Jane.

What's got police even more worried is how this blaze got started. It's believed there were 2 fires in 2 different areas -- very suspicious. With this part of town becoming a hotspot for development, there's definitely some interest in seeing this plant (and a nearby one at Keele) gone. Time will tell if this was in fact an accident or a scandalous inside job.