REDDING, Calif. – A Northern California man determined to exterminate a spider ended up setting fire to his own apartment Sunday, according to the Redding Record Searchlight.
“It was a huge wolf spider,” said Lyndsey Wisegarver, a caregiver to one of the residents of the apartment that caught fire.
Wisegarver told the paper that another resident used a torch-style lighter to try and kill the arachnid after spotting it in an upstairs bedroom. The flame didn’t kill the spider instantly, however – the burning arachnid reportedly ran onto a mattress, setting it on fire. Wisegarver said the fire also spread to the drapes and a flag collection.
After tenants failed to put out the blaze using a garden hose, Redding firefighters responded and managed to extinguish the fire before it spread to other units. The fire caused an estimated $11,000 in damage.
The residents were forced to evacuate the unit, which is now uninhabitable, according to KRCR. Authorities continued to investigate the fire Monday.
