A Day Of Firewood Deliveries

Our day begins with a temperature of -7º. With the wind, it feels like -26º. The forecast for today: Cloudy and cold, with a high near -1º. Wind chill values as low as -28º. The wind chill advisory for our area notes that “dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.”

The wood crew just departed for a day of “remote deliveries,” and will stage our wood-filled dump trailer in Kyle. Our two trucks will make deliveries to areas around Rockyford, Kyle and Allen today. It allows us to complete about 10 deliveries without spending two hours of drive-time on each trip.

The following is a look back at yesterday’s deliveries. A snapshot of one day in our winter heating assistance program.

After completing fourteen wood deliveries on Monday, the goal would be to do the same again on Tuesday, while also prepping as much as possible for the brutal cold of today. Our saws and splitters literally freeze up in conditions this cold.

And so our work commenced. Lane and Sidney, our new local staff members joined Bill and Devo at the woodpile cutting rounds, and splitting. Will loaded up Truck 4 and took off with a stack of requests in the Oglala, Wounded Knee, Manderson and Porcupine areas. I did the same, focusing on Pine Ridge village in Truck 1.

My first delivery of the day was a new location for me. Will had delivered here in December, so I texted to confirm I was at the right spot. I sent a photo with a message: “This house looks abandoned. Does it look familiar?”

Will responded: “I thought the same, but called and verified. She lives in that house.”

The windows were all busted out, and the front door was kicked in. There were no signs of anyone living here today, and no answers on the provided phone number, so I moved on to the next request.

Entering Pine Ridge village, I navigated the icy side streets to an old stucco house that sits atop a hill overlooking the south side of town. Backing up to the front door, I was greeted by a dog out front, and a grateful resident who briefly opened the door to say thank you.

More Than A Note Card

We try to keep our processes simple. Every call requesting firewood assistance generates an entry in our database, and a note card. The note card provides the staff with a name, phone number, and directions to each delivery. We color code the cards to indicate elders and disabled requests.

Kim, our office manager, often adds a small sticky note to the many note cards queued up on her desk: “elder — almost out” or “young kids in home" or “will be out by tonight.”

These notes are a reminder that these aren’t just note cards with helpful information to find a house. They’re people.

Many days, we are able to keep up with the requests as they come in. On occasion, it takes a day or maybe two to get to someone. We always ask folks to call in advance, but sometimes that doesn’t happen. Life gets in the way. Another crisis takes priority. And so the desperate phone call is simplified to a sticky note, and the card joins the queue.

This card — with this note — would not receive wood on Tuesday. We will try to get there today.

The Front Arrives

By lunchtime, we had collectively finished eight drops. As we all gathered in the dining room for a quick meal of ham and turkey sandwiches, the wind began to rattle the rafters and pelt the windows with blowing snow. The dark clouds that had been on the horizon all morning were now upon us, bringing a twenty-plus degree temperature drop in less than an hour.

We decided to prioritize afternoon deliveries among elders and families with young children. Will gathered up several cards, and hit the road as conditions worsened.

At 2:03 Will texted: “It’s a complete white out…I can’t see two feet in front of the truck.”

We suspended deliveries, but Bill was already on his way to one of the most remote areas of the reservation to deliver to an elder.

Grass Creek

Bill was tasked with a drive to the Grass Creek community. Accessible only via unmarked dirt roads that eventually are reduced to two-track, Bill’s 80-mile round-trip journey would take most of the afternoon

The residence — pictured above — houses an elder. With boarded up windows and holes in the walls, we know that so much more is needed, but for today, a load of firewood is all that we could offer.

Support Our Winter Heating Assistance Program

Each winter, we cut, split, and deliver more than 500 truckloads of firewood to homes across the reservation and provide emergency electric assistance and propane assistance, paid directly to utility companies.

Your tax-deductible donation will provide families and elders with firewood through the winter, along with emergency propane and electric utility assistance.

Give the gift of warmth today.