Kemano was a settlement situated 75 km (47 mi) southeast of

Kitimat Kitimat is a district municipality in the North Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of the Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine regional government. The Kitimat Valley is part of the most populous urban dist ...

in the province of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It was built to service a

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power station, built to provide energy for

Alcan Alcan was a Canadian mining company and aluminum manufacturer. It was founded in 1902 as the Northern Aluminum Company, renamed Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925, and Alcan Aluminum in 1966. It took the name Alcan Incorporated in 2001. During ...

to smelt

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

from its ore. The

Kemano Generating Station The Kemano Generating Station is situated 75 km (47 mi) southeast of Kitimat in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was completed in 1954, providing hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity ...

is built 427 m (1,400 ft) inside the base of Mt Dubose in a blasted cavern. It produces 896 MW of power from its eight generators, each of which has a capacity of 112MW.

History

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 water plunges 800 m (2,600 ft) to drive the generators. The two 287 kV power transmission lines travel 82 km (51 mi) from Kemano to KitimatThe Transmission Line
'' Royal BC Museum''. Accessed: 16 February 2012. 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. Voice communication over the power lines was the only form of fast contact between the sites. Between 1951 and 1954, 6,000 construction workers built the

Kenney Dam The Kenney Dam is a rock-fill embankment dam on the Nechako River in northwestern British Columbia, built in the early 1950s. The impoundment of water behind the dam forms the Nechako Reservoir, which is also commonly known as the Ootsa Lake Reserv ...

, tunnel, powerhouse, transmission line, smelter, and townsite. There remains no road to Kemano; everything had to be brought in by air or sea. Construction equipment and supplies were barged over Tahtsa Lake to the eastern end of the tunnel.Kendrick, John
Making It Happen
'' Royal BC Museum''. Accessed: 16 February 2012. Sixteen people died making the tunnel.The tunnel
'' Royal BC Museum''. Accessed: 16 February 2012. In 1956 the smelter complex consumed 35% of yearly electric energy in British Columbia.The Powerhouse
'' Royal BC Museum''. Accessed: 16 February 2012. The first Kemano Project, known as Kemano I, resulted in the flooding of of the

Nechako Reservoir The Nechako Reservoir, sometimes called the Ootsa Lake Reservoir, is a hydroelectric reservoir in British Columbia, Canada that was formed by the Kenney Dam making a diversion of the Nechako River through a 16-km intake tunnel in the Kitimat Ra ...

, within Cheslatta territory.Reservoir and Dam
'' Royal BC Museum''. Accessed: 16 February 2012. This reputedly removed approximately 75% of the flow of the Nechako, which is or was an important salmon river. Expansion on the project, known as Kemano II, has been contested in the Canadian courts by members of the

Cheslatta Carrier Nation The Cheslatta Carrier Nation or Cheslatta T'En (pronounced chez-la-ta), of the Dakelh (pronounced ) or Carrier people (Ta-cullies, meaning "people who go upon water" is a First Nation of the Nechako River at the headwaters of the Fraser River. ...

with a group of Elders who have filed a Statement of Claim with the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Kemano itself is a name for a tribal subdivision of the Henaksiala, part of the

Haisla Haisla may refer to: * Haisla people, an indigenous people living in Kitamaat, British Columbia, Canada. * Haisla language, their northern Wakashan language. * Haisla Nation The Haisla Nation is the Indian Act-mandated band government which repr ...

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. Kemano Indian Reserve No. 17 is located at the site of the Henaksiala village, though most

in the region today live at

Kitamaat Village Kitamaat Village, formerly Kitimat Mission, is the principal community of the Haisla people and their government, the Haisla Nation. Located on the ''Kitamaat 2'' First Nations Reserve (formerly Kitimat 2) on the east side of Kitimat Arm just so ...

, near

. The

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

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. The plant still exists and is operational on a shift system.

Climate

References

External links

PDF
Article about the burning of the town

– Rio Tinto Alcan BC * * * {{IBWaterDiv Company towns in Canada Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia Populated places in the Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine

History

Climate

See also

References

External links