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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Full refunds offered for Gorge concert

From Staff And Wire Reports

Full refunds are being offered to fans who bought tickets to Saturday night’s Kelly Clarkson and Maroon 5 concert at the Gorge Amphitheatre, which was canceled due to stormy weather.

It was the first show that was called off for weather in 27 years of the Gorge concert series at the outdoor venue near Quincy, Wash., said Jeff Trisler, president of Live Nation Northwest.

“The decision to do so was not made lightly,” Trisler said in a statement released Sunday. “It was only after careful deliberation with show production, artist management and venue management that this difficult decision was reached.”

The performers were ready to go on when heavy rain and high wind moved across the region. In the interest of audience, artist and crew safety, the concert was canceled, Trisler said.

Ticketholders can receive a refund by returning their tickets to the place of purchase. For more information, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.

Heavy rains, winds hit Washington, Oregon

SEATTLE – A late September storm brought rains and high winds to parts of Oregon and Washington, with an urban flood advisory issued for the Portland area and forecasters predicting gusts of more than 50 mph across the greater Puget Sound region.

The National Weather Service issued high-wind warnings for Sunday night into this morning for a region that stretched from the Canadian border to south of Olympia, saying gusts could reach 60 mph. The cause was an area of low pressure moving ashore.

“This has the potential to be one of the strongest September windstorms on record,” the weather service said in its advisory.

The gusty weather comes after record rainfalls in Western Washington. On Saturday, 1.71 inches fell at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, more than double the old record of 0.83 of an inch set in 1948. A record rainfall of 2.93 inches was set in Olympia, breaking the old record of 0.82 set in 1971.

Search for second hiker curtailed during storm

BOISE – Searchers on Sunday scaled back efforts to find a second missing Boise woman at Craters of the Moon National Monument as a storm system with winds up to 65 mph moved through central Idaho.

National Park Service spokeswoman Traci Weaver said crews are assessing the survivability of 63-year-old Jo Elliott-Blakeslee.

Officials said she entered the area last week on a short day hike without food, water or protective clothing.

Searchers found the body of 69-year-old Amy Linkert on Wednesday. She appeared to have died from exposure.

About 20 searchers were in the area Sunday, down from about 70 on Saturday.

The women were reported missing Sept. 23 when Elliott-Blakeslee didn’t show up for work.