Protection Through Connection: Community Wildfire Smoke Risk Perceptions and Communication Channels

Climate change is intensifying wildfire seasons, disproportionately affecting populations like manufactured home communities. Community‐engaged health communication requires purposeful relationship‐building and systematic exploration of community perspectives to develop campaigns centered on community needs. We conducted in‐depth interviews ( n = 19) with residents in Colorado to explore perceptions of wildfire smoke risks, barriers to protective actions, and information sharing within their networks. Findings emphasize the need for community‐centered approaches to develop targeted, actionable air quality communications that build on existing community resilience.