STILL smouldering cigarette butts have been blamed for starting nine fires around Ballarat in the past week.Firefighters are now warning smokers to be careful, with jail time or hefty fines in the offing for anyone caught throwing a lit butt.Country Fire Authority region 15 operations manager Phil Beasley said firefighters had been called to nine separate fires caused by cigarettes in the city in six days."These fires caused traffic delays and posed a great danger to drivers and their passengers as well as fire fighters," he said."Thankfully no one was injured, but in many cases, roadside grass fires can result in significant damage to property and put lives at risk."Mr Beasley is urging smokers to be careful."A careless flick of a cigarette is all it takes to spark a serious roadside grass fire so I appeal to smokers to ... avoid becoming an unwitting arsonist," he said.CFA Midlands Wimmera Area manager community safety Michael Boatman backed up the call, saying firefighters were annoyed and frustrated at the unusually high number of cigarette-related fires."It's probably a typical number of people chucking cigarettes out, but it is the fact of the grass being particularly dry that they are actually igniting," he said.He said the nine fires had been within Ballarat, with butts lighting up nature strips and other patches of dry grass.People caught throwing cigarette butts can be charged under the Environment Protection Act for littering, facing fines and court, while the CFA can also prosecute offenders during a fire danger period.They face up to 50 penalty units or 12 months in jail.