Significance of The Cigarette That Ben Drops

In the epilogue at the very end of the book, Ben and Mark go back to 'Salem's Lot and stand in the approximate spot where a fire once started that burned down half of the town. Ben takes out a Pall Mall cigarette and lights it with a match. Ben has not had a cigarette for months. He smokes this cigarette for a special purpose. There has not been any rain here for weeks, and the grass and plants are all dry. Ben drops the cigarette and leaves it to start a fire. After he and Mark watch the fire and make sure it has caught, they leave. They have started this fire hoping that it will burn the town again. They hope that it will burn some of the vampires and will send the rest of them on the run, making them hide badly so that they will be easy for people to find and kill. The cigarette symbolizes Ben's final act in destroying the vampires.