Multiple blizzards, ice storms, and below-zero temperatures have pummeled the Midwest, leaving two South Dakotans snowed in for more than two weeks.
OJ and Barb Semans live on the Rosebud Reservation about 100 miles south of Pierre, South Dakota, near the Nebraska border. The last time the Semans were able to leave their home was on Dec. 12.
“Well, me and my wife been in this house for 15 days, and she hasn’t killed me yet. So we’re doing good,” OJ Semans joked to KELO. “Yeah, it’s something different that’s never happened in my lifetime. You know, to actually be snowed in, not going to the store. I mean, not going to the gas station, not going uptown, not checking the mail, just here, snowed in.”
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Semans said after one week of being snowed in, they ran out of propane. Their son walked through the bitter storm for an hour to bring them more.
“We’ve been lucky. Our electricity only went out for a few hours and came back on. So you know, we have our food and provisions and stuff. We start the car up every day to make sure that if we ever get out, it’ll start,” Semans said.
The couple lost water for several days and had to dig around in their yard for an outdoor spigot to use.
Semans acknowledged that not everyone in the area has been as fortunate. As the area’s tribes’ consultant with FEMA, he has been working to get federal assistance.
“I’ve been working back and forth with FEMA emails and getting the paperwork ready. Trying to get the presidential declaration sent to the president to get some help down here,” Semans said.
On Thursday, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem declared a state of emergency and activated the state’s National Guard to deliver firewood from the Black Hills Forest Service to the Rosebud Reservation.
Noem spokesman Ian Fury said South Dakota’s Department of Public Safety had cleared roads on both reservations, worked to coordinate transportation for dialysis patients, assisted stranded drivers, and delivered food, firewood, and propane to various communities.
Semans, however, said their stock of supplies wouldn’t last much longer and noted additional help is crucial. He estimated that between seven and 10 people have died due to the recent storm.
“Monday night, we lost another individual who was stuck in White River, lived out in the country, kinda like I do,” Semans said. “It took them a few hours to open the roads and get to his house. By the time they got there, he was sick, they loaded him up, and on the way back, he passed away.”
Semans praised the help of the National Guard and the tribe’s work to clear roads.
“EPP workers that have been working, you know, 24/7,” Semans noted. “You know, some of them, it takes three hours to get a quarter mile because that snow is so hard.”
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He added that their sense of community is carrying them.
“It’s all family,” Semans said. “We are resilient, we will keep doing what we’re doing.”
