Wind, Rain Expected To Ease For Weekend -- Four Boat Deaths Blamed On Storm

Scattered showers are expected to greet trick-or-treaters tonight and will diminish through the weekend, bringing relief to the region, hard hit by rain and high winds the past two days, weather forecasters said.

National Weather Service forecaster Maria Lewis said that tomorrow and Sunday will bring occasional showers and some gusts - a far cry from Wednesday and yesterday when rain and high winds caused minor flooding.

Those winds were also blamed for capsizing a fishing boat and killing its crew.

"This is the Northwest, so things change a lot this time of year, but it looks like the (weekend) weather will be better than it has been," she said.

The bodies of two crew members of the fishing boat Miss Lindsay were recovered yesterday near Portage Island, east of Lummi Island. The victims were identified as Stanley W. Erickson, the owner, and Larry Older. The missing crew members are Jack Frazier and Jim Kennedy. All four were from Bellingham.

Divers reported a third body may be in the boat's crushed wheelhouse. The search for the fourth crew member was canceled, according to the Coast Guard.

High winds Wednesday night chased a number of fishing boats, including the Miss Lindsay, to the protection of Inati Bay, on the south end of Lummi Island.

The Miss Lindsay is owned by a Bellingham man, but registered in Juneau, the Coast Guard said.

"Fishermen told us it was there (in Inati Bay) when they went to bed at about 9 p.m. (Wednesday). When they woke up in the morning, it was gone," a Coast Guard spokesman said.

The 58-foot purse seiner was found capsized near Portage Island, east of Lummi.

Divers were unable to examine the hull of the Miss Lindsay for damage that might indicate a cause for the capsizing, but winds and waves up to 5 feet high are suspected, a Coast Guard spokesman said.

The fiberglass Miss Lindsay was built in 1979 and had a clean record with the Coast Guard Marine Safety Office, he said.

Meanwhile, about 6:30 a.m. yesterday, two Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad tracks were closed by a mudslide in Innis Arden. One set of tracks was reopened by 9 a.m., said Gus Melonas, a railroad spokesman.

The second line was reopened in the late afternoon. The slide was caused by a creek that was diverted from its natural channel.

Flooding forced the closure of several roads in the Snoqualmie Valley yesterday, and residents of flood-prone areas were being advised to brace for more inconveniences.

King County's Flood Warning Center issued a Phase III alert and dispatched crews to monitor flooding.

"There really isn't any immediate danger," said Elaine Kraft, a spokeswoman for the county Department of Natural Resources, which operates the warning center.

The Snoqualmie and Tolt rivers began to subside late yesterday. The Snoqualmie was expected to crest in Duvall by late today.

"Roads will continue to close in lower-lying areas in the valley," said Rochelle Ogershok, a spokeswoman for the King County Public Works Department.

Information from Seattle Times Eastside bureau reporter Bobby C. Calvan is included in this report.

Dee Norton's phone message number is 206-464-2255. His e-mail address is: dnor-new@seatimes.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- Where to call

For road-closure information in Snohomish County, call the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management at 425-258-6461.

For recorded flood information from the King County Flood Warning Center, call 206-296-8200 or 800-945-9263.

For road-closure information, call 206-205-9150 - or use Internet address: http://www.metrokc.gov/roadcon To report road problems, call 206-296-8100 or 800-KC ROADS (527-6237).