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

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