As of 8 a.m. local time, officials have ordered more mandatory evacuations as firefighters battle a growing wildfire near Yosemite National Park.

Disappointed tourists under evacuation orders are emptying campsites and lodges in the heart of the national park, as firefighters battled to contain a huge wildfire just to the west.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Wednesday that the blaze has burned 60 square miles It is 25 percent contained.

The new evacuations cover communities outside the park’s north side.

Authorities on Tuesday ordered visitors to leave all campsites and lodgings by noon Wednesday.

Park spokesman Scott Gediman says Yosemite Valley — the heart of the visitor experience at the park — along with a mountainous, 20-mile stretch of California’s State Route 41, will close at noon local time today. The closure is expected to last through Sunday. Officials decided on the closure to allow crews to perform protective measures such as burning away brush along roadways without having to deal with tourist traffic.

He says the park isn’t under imminent danger from the nearby fire. Smoke from the blaze is obscuring the valley’s grand vistas of waterfalls and sheer granite faces.