As forest fires creep up on Portugal villages, locals join the firefighters in their battle

More than 2,300 firefighters with more than 700 vehicles are tackling wildfires in Portugal, where every summer large areas of woodland get scorched.

A man uses a bucket to fight a fire in a field outside the village of Sao Jose das Matas, near Macao, central Portugal. More than 2,300 firefighters with more than 700 vehicles are tackling wildfires in Portugal, where every summer large areas of woodland 

A firefighting airplane drops its load near the road leading to the village of Sao Jose das Matas, near Macao, central Portugal. |AP

A Firefighter enveloped in smoke stands in the middle of a road leading to the village of Sao Jose das Matas, near Macao, central Portugal. | AP

A firefighter jeep drives on a road recently swept by a forest fire near Macao, central Portugal. | AP

A man uses a garden hose to wet the area around his house as fires rage around the village of Sao Jose das Matas, near Macao, central Portugal. | AP

Men use fig tree branches to extinguish flames approaching houses in the village of Sao Jose das Matas, near Macao, central Portugal. | AP

Smoke fills a road lined with pine and eucalyptus trees near Macao, central Portugal. | AP

A fire engine moves up a road as a fire raging on the background is reflected on the Tagus river outside the village of Sao Jose das Matas, near Macao, central Portugal. | AP

A TV camerawoman shoots images of a fire raging up a mountain slope and reflected on the Tagus river outside the village of Sao Jose das Matas, near Macao, central Portugal. | AP

The sun sets behind burnt pine trees in the village of Sao Jose das Matas, near Macao, central Portugal. | AP