Kemano

The plant comprises a 16 km (9.9 mi) long tunnel, the width of a two-lane highway, drilled and blasted through the coastal mountains to carry water to the penstocks of the Kemano powerhouse.

The two 287 kV power transmission lines travel 82 km (51 mi) from Kemano to Kitimat[1] across some of the most rugged mountain territory in British Columbia, along the Kildala Pass, about 1,500 m (5,000 ft) above sea-level.

Kemano itself is a name for a tribal subdivision of the Henaksiala, part of the Haisla group, and was a community in its own right after many of the coastal tribes withdrew during the influx of colonists post-1780, to remove themselves from the threat of diseases and the alien culture.

The company town of Kemano was originally built in the 1950s and was home to a thriving small community, featuring a guesthouse, a shop which sold everything from candy to guns to socks to hats, a golf course, curling rink, bowling alley, and a church.

When the power station was automated, the town eventually closed its doors as a community in 2000, the residents were moved out, and the majority of houses (including the school) were burnt down as a training exercise for selected fire departments from all of BC.