Mouse burns house with a fiery re-entry

FORT SUMNER, N.M. — A mouse got its revenge against a homeowner who tried to dispose of it in a pile of burning leaves; the blazing creature ran back 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 a spot just beneath a window, and the flames spread up from there and throughout the house.

No one was hurt inside, but the home and everything in it were destroyed.

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

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