Forest fires as critical phenomena

A simple model is presented which describes the propagation of a fire in a densely packed forest from a centrally located burning tree. This model shares some features with random bond percolation from which it is distinct. The authors find that the critical probability p_c is approximately ¹/₃ for the triangular lattice, i.e. the onset of a spanning or 'penetrating' fire. In addition they find (i) a fractal dimensionality, d_r of 1.75+or-0.05, (ii) the radius of gyration scales with time ( nu ) as 0.75+or-0.02 and (iii) the number of burnt trees scales with time as d_t approximately 1.33+or-0.03 where d_t is a metric exponent. More realistic models are presented for future consideration.