Firefighters in Denton County are preparing for another tough wildfire season.
Denton Fire Capt. Mike Bardwell said he fears this wildfire season will look similar to last year's, despite recent rainfall.
"We haven't seen near the rainfall that we should have," he said. "We are still way below normal, and unless something changes, when everything dries out and gets hot again, the same thing is going to happen that happened last year."
"It rained in Dallas, but it didn't rain in South Texas or in West Texas," Wellman said.
A group of firefighters trained in Denton on Monday to battle wildfires. This year, wildland fire training is mandatory for all Texas firefighters.
"Well, it's important just for all the people in Texas to have more people trained in fighting wildfires so there's no more destruction and all their property being lost and firefighter deaths," Little Elm Assistant Fire Chief Ed Wellman said.
Wildfires are a different beast than the structure fires they typically fight, the firefighters said.
"It's real scary, because we are not real experienced in doing this," Bardwell said. "We've never been trained by forest service officials like we are now."
This mandatory course teaches officials safety tips and new techniques.
