Guess He Showed Him

Discarded Mouse Returns to Set Home Ablaze

FORT SUMNER, N.M. (Jan. 8) - A mouse got its revenge against a homeowner who tried to dispose of it in a pile of burning leaves. The blazing creature returned to the man's house and set it on fire.

Luciano Mares, 81, of Fort Sumner said he caught the mouse inside his house and wanted to get rid of it.

"I had some leaves burning outside, so I threw it in the fire, and the mouse was on fire and ran back at the house," Mares said from a motel room Saturday.

Village Fire Chief Juan Chavez said the burning mouse ran to just beneath a window of the nearby home. The flames spread up the window and throughout the house.

All contents of the home were destroyed, he said. No injuries were reported.

Unseasonably dry and windy conditions have charred more than 53,000 acres and destroyed 10 homes in southeastern New Mexico in recent weeks.

"I've seen numerous house fires," village Fire Department Capt. Jim Lyssy said, "but nothing as unique as this one."