Prisoners broke windows and tore up bunks in two sweltering prison barracks during a riot sparked when a guard used pepper spray on an inmate who jumped him.

Guards were kept outside the two barracks of the Wrightsville Unit for four hours Sunday before the standoff ended when officers in riot gear prepared to move in.About 96 prisoners were inside, although only 15 were blamed for leading the melee.

The inmates, who work with livestock among other jobs, may have been irritable because of temperatures that hit 100 degrees and dropped to only around 80 degrees at night, prison officials said.

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