Mobil scanning lidar is the most appropriate tool for monitoring wildfire smoke-plume dynamics and optical properties. Lidar is the only remote sensing instrument capable of obtaining detailed three-dimensional range-resolved information for smoke distributions and optical properties over ranges of 10+ km at different wavelengths simultaneously. Lidar allows continuous monitoring of smoke-polluted atmospheres, providing information about diurnal and spatial variation of aerosol properties, plume heights and dynamics, as well as direction and rate of smoke-plume movement in near real-time. It is a prospective instrument for monitoring downdrafts, which transport the smoke particulates downward, worsening air quality at ground level. The two-wavelength lidar, developed at The Fire Sciences Laboratory (Missoula, MT, USA) utilizes two ways for data processing, specified here as Program 1 and Program 2. Program 1 is used to study the dynamics of smoke layering and plumes and investigate changes of their heights in time and space at the 1064 nm wavelength. With this program, no lidar signal inversion into the optical parameters is made. Program 2 is used to extract the optical parameters of the atmosphere from signals measured at the 355 nm wavelength. With Program 2, signal inversion yields vertical profiles for the smoke particulates? optical depth, the extinction coefficient profile, and the lidar ratio. This program is used to investigate optical characteristics of smoke particulates in the vicinity of wildfires.