Man burns house down during flaming spider-geddon

In a battle against an overenthusiastic homeowner in Chico, Calif., the spiders won, hands-down. Eiliya Maida should probably have realized that the story would not end well when he decided to clear his garden of spiders by attacking their webs with a propane-fuelled blowtorch. Not surprisingly, he accidently set fire to some dry plants and -- whoosh! -- a fire was ignited in the home's attic. To quench the flames, firefighters cut a hole in the roof, stopping the blaze from billowing into other parts of the roof. Unfortunately, Mr. Maida was not insured, so he'll have to foot the $25,000 repair bill himself. The spiders are pretty happy about the whole affair.