MISSION, S.D. (KELO) — As of Thursday morning, 67 families on the Rosebud Indian Reservation were without propane as temperatures hit the negative teens and wind chill drove down to the minus 40s.

Travis Eagle Deer, Sr., General Manager of Sicangu Propane, the sole propane provider on the Rosebud Reservation, says that number is growing.

Speaking with KELOLAND News from the side of the road just before noon on Thursday, Eagle Deer assured us that Sicangu has plenty of propane in stock. The issue, he said, is getting it delivered.

The tanks are all full, Eagle Deer said, but actually getting to people’s houses has been a difficulty due to roads being drifted shut, and people’s tanks being buried in snow.

Eagle Deer says that on Tuesday the company was forced to pull their trucks from the road due to lack of visibility from the blowing snow.

The cold is also an issue of course. When Eagle Deer spoke to us, he was in his truck on the side of the road next to some tractors that had gelled up due to the cold. Without machinery available to clear roads, there are places the propane company just can’t get to.

The temperature in Mission, S.D., where Sicangu Propane is located, at the time of this writing is -10° F, with a wind chill of -37° F.

Eagle Deer says that he hopes to be able to reach those in need and restore propane access once the winds die down enough that roads can be reopened.

Sicangu Propane is considering the option of attempting to deliver smaller amounts of bottled propane to families snowed in, but in the meantime Eagle Deer advises those snowed in to contact their community representatives to find out about public shelters set up in their communities.