Particulates emitted by wildfires and prescribed fires can severely affect visibility and air quality resulting in car accidents, airport and road closures, and public health problems. Researchers have developed a new remote-sensing instrument (lidar) and are now calibrating and testing this and auxiliary instrumentation and new operative technologies for real-time measurements of smoke particulates emitted by fires over a large area. This information will enable managers and public officials to assess and predict effects on visibility and air quality allowing for better preparation for these events. This is one of several projects targeted at understanding and predicting smoke movement under different environmental conditions.