Over 1100 acres burned, 5 Shenandoah County homes destroyed due to wildfire

LURAY, Va. (7News) — Five homes in Shenandoah County have been destroyed due to wildfires that began to spread on Wednesday, according to county officials.

On Thursday evening, officials said two large fires that were burning near Crooked Run Road near Basye and Coal Mine Road northwest of Strasburg are considered contained.

Crews remained on the scene to monitor the area and address any rekindling.

Officials said five homes in the Coal Mine Road area were destroyed though that number may change as officials continue to assess the area.

Residents who were evacuated were able to return to their homes Thursday night.

By Thursday evening, officials said the fire had begun moving west into Shenandoah County.

Officials are continuing to monitor the contained fires and resources are being concentrated in anticipation of fire suppression activity near the New Market Gap on Massanutten Mountain between Page and Shenandoah counties.

Officials said weather conditions have improved since Wednesday with lower winds forecasted, however, residents are urged to remain vigilant to fires.

East and westbound lanes of U.S. 211 were closed to traffic Thursday evening.

Officials said the smoke from the wildfire shut down Skyline Drive from Thornton Gap (mile 31.5) to Mathews Arm (mile 22.1). The Neighbor Mountain Trails are closed as well as the Appalachian Trail from Elkwallow to Beams Gap. Other closed trails include the Rocky Branch, Neighbor Mountain, Jeremys Run, and Byrds Nest 4.

The Hull School Trail from Skyline Drive to Thornton River Upper Trail at the intersection of Hull School Trail to Skyline Drive is also closed as of 5 p.m. Friday.

As of 5 p.m. Friday, the fire burned about 1,188 acres of timber with only 10% contained. Officials said the cause of the fire remains unknown.

SKYTrak7 was over the scene of the plume of smoke from the wildfires. Watch below:

"Building, attending, maintaining or using an open fire anywhere within the boundaries of the Park is prohibited," the National Park Service website states.

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It comes after a Fire Weather Watch was issued by the National Weather Service Wednesday for the DMV area.

Page County leaders declared a local emergency citing several brush and wood fires throughout the county. Officials also said several communities were asked to evacuate due to the hazardous conditions.

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Page County Public Schools are closed on Friday as a result of the impact. School leaders said they are using Luray High School as a designated evacuation shelter for the American Red Cross.

"As we continue to actively track fires across Virginia, our state agencies led by @ForestryVA crews are working closely with local firefighters and we ask everyone to stay alert. These brave men and women are battling tough conditions to contain the fires & keep Virginians safe," Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin tweeted.

The Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) has been monitoring the situation and released a Wildfire Summation Report to keep track of the fires occurring across the area. The report can be seen below:

7News will continue updating this article as more information is received.