SAO PAULO >> Hundreds of men and women have joined forces with firefighters to help control a wildfire that has ravaged more than a quarter of a national park in Brazil’s central state of Goias.

Brazil’s Environment Ministry says nearly 160,000 acres of the 595,000-acre Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park has burned since it began Oct. 10.

The recently formed Network Against Fire is a group composed of people residing in areas near the park that provide transportation, meals, and manpower to help the firefighters.

On its Facebook page is says some 200 volunteers are helping the close to 180 firefighters battling the blaze.

The ministry’s Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation manages the parks.

It has said the fire is expected to be extinguished within the next two days.