RAPID CITY, S.D. — Counties in western South Dakota impacted by last weekend's Winter Storm Atlas are seeking help from the federal government.

Commissioners in the counties of Pennington, Meade, Lawrence and Butte all have declared disasters. That's the first step toward getting federal aid. Requests must first go through the governor.

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Pennington County Commission Chairman Lyndell Petersen says he's confident the region will get federal help because of the size of the storm.

It dumped up to 4 feet of snow in western South Dakota's Black Hills, cutting power to about 30,000 people, killing tens of thousands of cattle, damaging buildings, bringing travel to a standstill and shutting down schools.

Schools in Rapid City were reopening on Wednesday.

iWitness Guzva84 captured this photo of mailboxes encased in snow in Spearfish, SD.