Theory 03/Thresholds & Tipping/Wildfire
Fire Needs Fuel Connectivity
The claim
Fire spread stops when fuel connectivity falls below a threshold, so removing a small fraction of fuel in the right pattern can halt a front.
01Mechanism
Spread requires a connected path of burnable fuel; below the connectivity threshold the front fragments and stalls even where fuel remains.
02Prediction
Spread should stop abruptly below a connectivity fraction.
03Refutation
Spread declining smoothly with fuel load would remove the connectivity threshold.