US: Pipeline protesters set fires as camp closure looms

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Plumes of fire shot into a snow-filled sky at a protest camp in North Dakota on Wednesday as protesters set their tents ablaze in defiance of the looming closure of their site.

Protesters have been ordered to evacuate the Standing Rock camp by 2 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Some demonstrators told local media they were burning the yurt and tipi structures in line with local Native American customs of leaving.

The corps ordered the evacuation of the camp ahead of spring flooding in the area, and many protesters are planning to move from the current site, which sits on federal land near the Missouri River, to others nearby, including one about a mile (kilometer) away.

Protesters fear that a planned oil pipeline would imperil the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation's water supply, and have called on authorities to place a moratorium on construction until a full environmental review can be completed.

President Donald Trump earlier this month gave the go-ahead for construction to resume after former President Barack Obama halted work on the project.

“I urge all remaining individuals to immediately vacate the area known as the ‘Oceti Sakowin camp site’ so that cleanup work can be completed before the area is inundated with floodwater," state Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said in a statement.

"This is about protecting the land and the waters of the Missouri River from pollution from tons of garbage, human waste and other hazardous items," he added.