Pipeline protesters battle snow, bitter cold

MANDAN, N.D. — Some protesters who have been fighting the Dakota Access pipeline retreated to a nearby casino and area shelters overnight as a blizzard blew through, but many remained at a camp in southern North Dakota, according to protest organizers who say they’re committed to maintaining the camp through the winter.

The storm Monday and Tuesday brought more than half a foot of snow, wind gusts exceeding 50 mph and temperatures that felt as cold as 15 degrees below zero. For some not accustomed to often-harsh North Dakota winters, the weather was eye-opening.

“Scary,” said Melissa Thorpe, 30, of St. Petersburg, Florida, who had been staying in a teepee with a dozen other people at the large encampment but headed to a shelter overnight.

Protesters are maintaining a presence even after scoring a victory when the Army on Sunday said it would not issue an easement for the $3.8 billion pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault reiterated his call Tuesday for protesters to leave, saying the Army’s decision has delayed the pipeline for months and there’s no reason for people to put their lives at risk.

Morton County set up emergency shelters at storm-closed school facilities in Mandan and Flasher after sheriff’s deputies responded to numerous stranded vehicles in the protest camp area, according to spokeswoman Maxine Herr. Only one protester went to the Flasher school; about 30, including Thorpe, spent the night in a Mandan school gymnasium.

Many remained at the camp overnight, according to Jade Begay, of Tesuque, who said she stayed in a yurt heated by a wood stove and had to fix a roof panel that was blown off the tent-like structure.

“I was awake most of the night. It was pretty intense,” Begay said.