A tourist in Bali triggered a disaster after trying to drive a spider out of a villa bathroom with a burning piece of paper.
The flames reached the building's thatched roof, destroying the rental home in North Kuta and everything inside it.
Here's what to know
According to BroBible (citing the Bali Times), Gaorap Rana, a 45-year-old tourist from Nepal, was staying in a villa in Bali's North Kuta district.
He found a spider in the bathroom and tried to frighten it away with fire. But after leaving the burning paper behind and walking into another room, a gust lifted it onto the villa's cogon-grass roof, which quickly set alight. Rana managed to escape the building unharmed.
The island is home to many different spider species, and travelers who are already uncomfortable around arachnids may panic when seeing them — especially if they are worried about venomous bites.
More background
BroBible described arachnophobia as one of the most common fears worldwide. However, even people who do not have a clinical phobia can still react strongly when a spider appears unexpectedly.
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Some research suggests that fear is an evolutionary response to venomous spiders, though there is still no clear consensus on why it is so widespread.
An unexpected sighting can trigger a fight-or-flight response, but when humans lash out at animals in fear, the animal involved in the encounter is often killed immediately.
Rana's burning paper landed on a thatched cogon-grass roof, and that highly flammable material turned a small act into a devastating fire.
Using fire inside a lodging space, especially around natural building materials like those used in North Kuta villa, can be far more dangerous than encountering an unidentified spider itself.
Rana made it out safely, but the blaze consumed the villa and its contents, causing roughly $112,000 in damage.
Where can I learn more?
This isn't the only tale of irresponsible actions causing serious harm or risk.
• A homeowner said neighbors ignited a massive fire mere feet from a house, ultimately leaving it nearly uninhabitable.
• A homeowner confronted a neighbor over a toxic backyard bonfire that sent dangerous smoke across the property.
• At Yellowstone, a visitor filmed someone stepping onto the deadly hot spring crust and barely avoiding disaster.
• Wildlife rehabilitators showed how a common pest control method left a house sparrow trapped and injured.
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