A wildfire burning at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia has nearly tripled in size since Monday and now covers about 5,600 acres, officials said Wednesday. 

An eight-mile stretch of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail from Doyles River Overlook to Powell Gap was closed due to the fire. While a portion of Skyline Drive also had been closed, there was no mention of the road's status in the Wednesday morning fire update, and information staff did not return a phone call seeking additional details.

However, the status update did state that the Rocky Mount Fire "had an 80-100-acre slop-over on the east side of Skyline Drive near mile marker 76."

The fire, which was being batted by roughly 250 personnel, was spotted Saturday on the west side of Skyline Drive and was thought to have been human caused, although that has not been determined. 

"A firing operation was conducted (Tuesday) to burn vegetation near the Beldor Hollow Community to help contain the fire to that area," the release said. "Crews are confident that the fire will hold at Beldor Hollow Road. The fire progressed south near Brown Mountain Trail and was active overnight near 2 Mile Run Lane. The Virginia Department of Forestry crews monitored the area overnight. Fire crews are providing structure protection near 2 Mile Run and Lam Hollow communities. The weather remains dry today; however, a cold front is expected to bring a chance of rain on Friday. The fire is burning in mountain laurel, pine, and oak forests with heavy leaf litter."

Trails closed by the fire included:

* Rocky Mount Trail

* Gap Run Trail

* Onemile Run Trail

* Brown Mountain Trail

* Big Run Portal Trail

* Rocky Mountain Run Trail

* Rockytop Trail

* Big Run Loop

* Austin Mountain Trail

* Lewis Peak Trail

* Patterson Ridge Trail

* Madison Run Spur