Winds knock out power to 2,500 in the region

SEATTLE – About 2,500 Puget Sound Energy customers were without power Sunday night in King, Thurston, Whatcom, Kitsap and Jefferson counties after a day of strong winds.

Most of the customers left without power – about 2,000 – were in Redmond, the Eastgate section of Bellevue and Mercer Island in King County, PSE spokeswoman Dorothy Bracken said.

The winds blew tree branches onto power lines, causing the outages, she said.

Crews were busy going to disrupted power lines and taking the branches off them, Bracken said.

The National Weather Service in Seattle reported winds were generally about 20 to 25 mph, with gusts to 35 mph, in Western Washington. A gust of 41 mph was recorded on Lake Washington.

Ferry fares decrease: Ferry fares have dropped from peak-season rates to the lower regular-season schedule, Washington State Ferries officials said. The peak-season surcharge was lifted Sunday until May, reducing the cost for a car and driver to cross Puget Sound from $12 to $9.50. Ferry officials also noted that the system will be on its regular fall schedule today, which is Columbus Day. On Tuesday, daily trips will be reduced on the Port Townsend-Keystone route, with sailings every 90 minutes instead of 45 minutes.

Wenatchee

Rescue dog dies of cancer: Turbo, a golden retriever who spent his life helping lost humans, has died of cancer. The 9-year-old search-and-rescue dog died Oct. 5, about three weeks after being diagnosed, said his owner and handler, Scott Stroming. Turbo had participated in wilderness searches and rescues since 1996, said Stroming, an emergency room physician at Central Washington Hospital. For the past four seasons, Turbo worked with the Mission Ridge Ski Patrol as an avalanche dog, Stroming said.

Oregon

Woman rescued after boat runs aground: A 73-year-old woman was rescued by the Coast Guard this weekend after the boat she was in ran aground near Tongue Point Bar near Astoria. The woman, Delores Klatt, was hoisted out of the boat and taken to Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria with neck, back and leg injuries, according to Astoria-based Coast Guard officials. There were four other people in the boat, which refloated with a shift in the tide.

Judges can’t reduce speeding fines: Sympathetic judges can no longer reduce fines for drivers caught speeding in Oregon, a consequence of a new law that has drawn criticism from some on the bench. Under House Bill 2759, the Legislature raised the minimum amounts levied for speeding tickets in an effort to shore up the state’s public safety budget. The new rule leaves judges no room for leniency in waiving part of the fines, which Judge Jad Lemhouse of the Central Linn Justice Court said used to allow him and other judges to work with motorists and improve public safety.

From Herald news services