Paulina Gretzky -- Where There's Smoke, There's a Woman on Fire!

Wayne Gretzky's daughter Paulina was smokin' hot both figuratively and literally last night ... because we've learned she almost went up in flames at her local bar.

Sources at The Tipsy Goat in Thousand Oaks tell us, Paulina was sitting on the edge of one of the bar's outdoor fire pits when she turned to throw a cigarette into the flames.

We're told as she turned ... a corner of Paulina's sweater slipped into the pit, and before she knew it the entire thing was engulfed in flames.

Eyewitnesses say Paulina and several bar patrons ripped off her sweater -- or what was left of it -- and onlookers jumped into action, extinguishing the flames.

Paulina's people tell us ... she's fine.

That fire pit has caused Paulina trouble in the past. We're told she was once booted from the joint for dancing on the very same pit.