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Flaming spider causes $11,000 worth of damage in apartment

By Ben Hooper
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Jan. 9 (UPI) -- A California man using a lighter to kill a "huge" spider in his apartment ended up causing $11,000 worth of damage when the arachnid ignited a mattress.

Lyndsey Wisegarver, a caregiver for a resident of the apartment in Redding, said another resident was trying to kill a massive spider with a torch lighter and succeeded in setting the pest aflame.

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"It was a huge wolf spider," Wisegarver told the Redding Record Searchlight.

The attempt turned to disaster, however, when the flaming spider fled into a mattress, setting it on fire.

Wisegarver said the flames soon spread to the apartment's drapes and a flag collection.

Redding firefighters responded to the building, where residents tried unsuccessfully to extinguish the flames with a garden hose.

The damage from the fire was estimated at about $11,000.

Firefighters said the incident remains under investigation.

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