RAPID CITY, S.D. – First responders and law enforcement were busy overnight, rescuing stranded motorists on I-90 and county roads.
Wednesday night, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office had reported over 100 stranded motorists on roads between Wall and Rapid City.
Sheriff’s officials say they believe everyone had been accounted for, including those who were involuntarily stranded and taken to safety.
A few people chose to stay with their vehicles and had adequate fuel and supplies.
Emergency shelters were opened in Wall, Wicksville and New Underwood to help stranded motorists.
I-90 remains closed from Ellsworth Air Force Base out to Chamberlain. South Dakota Highway 34 between Sturgis and the county line is closed and so is Highway 212 east from Newell. Many secondary roads are in poor condition or impassable.
The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office says visibility is terrible in Box Elder going east. The Department of Public Safety does NOT anticipate I-90 opening any time soon, potentially not at all today (Thursday).
Law enforcement encourages people to not try to use side highways to bypass interstate closure.
They wrote “Resources are stretched thin and we cannot get to you if stranded.”
