Complex Network Theory Criterion to Distribute Fuel Breaks for the Hazard Control of Fire Spread in Forests

We propose a computational methodology based on complex network theory for distributing fuel breaks to reduce the spread rate and size of wildland fires. The development of fire spread is modeled via a lattice network on the basis of a cellular automata model. We illustrate the proposed approach through a simplistic example which considers a square lattice with periodic boundary conditions with a single type of vegetation and varying density. Simulation results over an ensemble of lattice realizations show that the methodology outperforms significantly the benchmark tactic of random distribution of fuel breaks.