In the summer of 2023, as wildfires draped heavy smoke over much of the northeast U.S., our team worked with rural community partners to install air-quality sensors where there were none, populating the national Fire and Smoke Map and helping leaders use data to inform actions. In addition, we drafted and edited portions of the State Hazard Mitigation Plan, developed recommendations for how the federal government can better protect communities and engaged with the media to help the public understand how to protect themselves.