MOHAVE VALLEY–Fire officials said Friday that two fires this week along Highway 95 in Mohave Valley were started after cigarette’s were discarded carelessly from a vehicle.

The first fire occurred on Wednesday around 1 p.m. a little south of Reservation Road and Highway 95.

“It burned about a 5×200 foot long area but we were able to get it under control and extinguished pretty quickly,” said Mohave Valley Fire Chief Don Gibson.

Gibson said his crew was dispatched again the next day around 11:30 a.m. near the same area for the same reason. That fire only charred an area of 5×10 feet.

“Someone discarded a cigarette and it caught the brush on fire,” he said. “These types of incidents that can be prevented tie up our resources.”

Gibson said he was able to locate the cigarette butts and where the fire originated.

“I did a test in the same location and was able to determine that these fires were in fact started by a lit cigarette,” he said.

Gibson stressed that even though the fire ban has been lifted in our area, residents need to still use precaution, especially down in the valley area.

“We haven’t seen much rain. Bullhead (City) and Fort Mohave got that rain storm, but we got very little down here so everything remains very dry and can catch fire quickly.” he explained.

Gibson is asking to help prevention further fires in the area to properly discard of lit cigarettes and to not throw them out a moving vehicle.

In Arizona, throwing a cigarette butt out of a car window while driving on a roadway can end with the person facing a class 1 misdemeanor and a $500 fine.