After checks, Horizon nears normal volume

Horizon Air said Sunday it will return to 90 percent of normal operations this week, following several days of heavy cancellations while the company inspected its Bombardier Q-400 turboprops.

The airline issued a new schedule that will be in effect from Tuesday through next Monday, after which it hopes to resume normal operations.

Horizon canceled more than 120 flights on Wednesday and Thursday, and 97 on Friday – about one-fifth of its schedule – after landing-gear failures on two planes in Europe prompted Bombardier to order the grounding of all Q-400 planes with at least 10,000 flights.

“With safety as our foremost consideration, we’re working diligently to respond to directives from the manufacturers and regulatory authorities as we receive them,” said Jeff Pinneo, Horizon president and CEO. “We remain focused on minimizing any inconvenience to our customers as we progress toward the restoration of our full flight schedule.”

Horizon flies 33 of the Bombardier turboprops and says it has not had any problems with its planes.

Horizon is a subsidiary of Alaska Air, which has taken over some routes during the inspections. Horizon flies to 48 cities in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, British Columbia and Alberta.

– Associated Press

Lewiston

Hunters cautioned about grizzlies

The state Department of Fish and Game is warning elk hunters in North Idaho to take precautions to avoid encounters with grizzly bears.

Dead elk can attract grizzlies if they are left in the field overnight, a common practice when an elk is killed far from camp late in the day.

A black bear hunter earlier this month shot and killed a grizzly near Kelly Creek about 3 miles from the Montana border, a region where the last confirmed sighting of the species was in 1946.

Officials say the area could hold more grizzly bears, which are listed as a threatened species.

Hunters should hang elk meat in a tree if they can’t get it out of the field, said Steve Nadeau, large carnivore manager for the Department of Fish and Game.

“What we tell people to do is find a point some 100 yards plus away, if you can, so you can look over the site before you approach, and then make sure you make some noise while you approach so they know you are human,” Nadeau told the Lewiston Tribune.

If a grizzly bear is on a carcass that hasn’t been hung from a tree, the hunter should not approach, he said.

“If you try to scare off a bear you are putting yourself in danger,” Nadeau said. “They may run, they may not.”

Campers in the region were also being warned to take additional precautions, especially keeping a clean camp with food stored in bear-proof containers or hung in a tree.

– Associated Press

Bonner County

Crash leaves man in critical condition

A Clark Fork, Idaho, man was in critical condition Sunday after his motorcycle was struck by a Chevy Blazer on state Highway 200 near Shingle Mill Road.

Wayne Becker, 47, was taken to Kootenai County Medical Center by MedStar helicopter after the accident.

Idaho State Police said Becker was westbound on Highway 200 when the eastbound Blazer, driven by Lucille Hylton, 72, of Sandpoint, struck him while trying to turn onto Shingle Mill Road. No citations were immediately issued, but the accident is being investigated, the state police report said.

– Staff reports