Protesters ride out N.D. blizzard at camp, shelters

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.

“Scary,” said Melissa Thorpe, 30, of St. Petersburg, Fla., who had been staying in a teepee with others 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 stranded vehicles in the camp area, according to spokeswoman Maxine Herr.

Thorpe and fellow pipeline opponents couldn’t find a hotel room and “thought we were going to be sleeping in our car at Wal-Mart,” she said. “We’re so happy (the shelter) is here.”

Many remained at the camp overnight, according to Jade Begay, of Tesuque, N.M., who said she stayed in a yurt heated by a wood stove.

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