LYNDEN, Wash. (AP) — A Washington state fire chief says a man dumped gasoline on a beehive in a tree in retaliation for a bee sting, then ignited the hive, causing an explosion heard throughout his suburban neighbourhood just a few miles south of the Canadian border.

Lynden chief Gary Baar tells the Bellingham Herald that the Sunday night fire caused a large “whoosh,” singed the tree and killed the bees but no people were hurt.

Baar says the man’s friend had been stung earlier in the day.

The fire chief says, “The correct way to do that is to call a beekeeper.”

Firefighters explained that to the homeowner, and the newspaper says it doesn’t appear that that the man will be cited.