A number of lightning strikes are being blamed for starting a number of wildfires including a 9,000 acre blaze south of Othello. That fire broke out Saturday near Gable Mountain and west of Basin City with firefighters getting the upper hand around 8:00 p.m. Another fire in the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge off Old Black Lake Road consumed 175 acres and a lightning strike started an attic fire at a Roan A.3 NW home near Ephrata.