Former employees and residents watch as the chimneys of the decommissioned power plant collapse on Saturday
The implosion of the four smoke towers of the San Juan Power Plant occurred simultaneously on Saturday, August 24, 2024, in northern Water Flow, New Mexico. (Curtis Ray Benally/Special to the Tri-City Record)
WATERFLOW — “Fire in the hole” was heard before the explosion rocked San Juan County and brought down the smokestacks of the San Juan Power Plant in Waterflow.
Former employees and residents began arriving around 7 a.m. Saturday morning to find parking in a dirt lot across from the decommissioned power plant to witness the destruction of the smokestacks at 9 a.m. on August 24.
“I don’t know how I feel right now,” Justin Yazzie said with tears in his eyes as he watched the towers collapse.
Yazzie, 70, worked at the plant for 40 years and retired as a fuel and water analyst in the water laboratory.
The implosion of the smoke towers at the San Juan Power Plant begins Saturday north of Water Flow, New Mexico. (Curtis Ray Benally/Special to the Tri-City Record)
Demolition of the smoke towers at the San Juan Power Plant begins Saturday north of Water Flow, New Mexico. (Curtis Ray Benally/Special to the Tri-City Record)
“I practically grew up there,” he said.
Because he worked shifts and worked 12 hours a day, he spent more time with his colleagues than with his family.
Yazzie said he has many “fond memories” that he shares with his former colleagues and other retirees, and despite the loss of the power plant, he remains in favor of fossil fuels and an “ethical” approach to them.
“We need it. People need jobs,” he said.
Yazzie said he lives his traditions and culture. He farms the land and has cattle that he “undergrazes.”
“I want to take care of the land, take care of Mother Earth,” Yazzie said, adding that he has done his part by installing solar panels on his home.
Yazzie said the San Juan power plant has “provided our children with a wonderful childhood.”
“I also secured a good pension and a 401K account so I can live comfortably,” he said. “But most of all, I’m sad when I think about the next two generations who won’t have the opportunities I had.”
As a single mother, Coral Singer was able to support her child by working at the San Juan Power Plant. Before learning to weld at San Juan College, Singer worked as a waitress. As a member of Local 627, she got a job as a boilermaker at the power plant.
She said that 75% of the workforce is Native American and that “this is their daily bread.”
“Now we have to travel to find work,” Singer said. “It’s a sad day.”
Coral Singer, a former boilermaker at the San Juan Power Plant, told stories Saturday about working at the plant just before the smokestacks came crashing down that morning. (Debra Mayeux/Tri-City Record)
Justin Yazzie, a retired fuel and water analyst at the San Juan Power Plant, said it was a sad day to see the place he had worked at for 40 years collapse. (Debra Mayeux/Tri-City Record)
Singer’s son, Franklin Miller, watched the smokestacks being dismantled while at his mother’s side and said he would be happy to see the land reclaimed.
“There is not as much rainfall as there used to be and the native plants used for ceremonies and medicinal purposes do not grow here as they once did,” Miller said, adding that he believes this is due to the coal-fired power plants.
“We need to go deep into the forest to find the medicinal plants,” Miller said, adding that demolishing the facility will “help clean the air and bring back the native plants.”
Tom Harper, who worked for 10 years in the plant’s computer department on a 40-year-old PBX system and network switches, said he had “mixed emotions” when he saw the smokestacks collapse.
“It’s been a fixture in the area for so long,” Harper said.
The power plant opened in 1973 and originally had four coal-fired units. Units 2 and 3 were closed in 2017, and units 1 and 4 remained in operation until September 2022, when these two units were decommissioned.
According to a press release from the Western Clean Energy Campaign, Units 1 and 2 were jointly owned by PNM and Tucson Electric Power.
Units 3 and 4 supplied power to PNM as well as a mix of municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and as far away as California, the press release said.
Four smoke towers disappeared Saturday in northern Water Flow, New Mexico, following the implosion of the San Juan power plant. (Curtis Ray Benally/Special to the Tri-City Record)
