Electronic music festival Rainbow Serpent has been held in the western Victorian country town of Lexton for the last time.
Just hours after it was revealed the popular bush doof had been postponed due to the effects of bushfire, the farm owners who host the three-day event called last drinks on the festival's summer status.
"From a landowner perspective, the festival will never run in January again," Jayne Briody said.
"What happened on December 20 was an eye-opener, and I hate to think what would happen if the Rainbow Serpent festival was running when that happened."
Scorched land
Residents of the small farming community were evacuated just five days before Christmas as a massive bushfire swept through the town.
Ms Briody's farm was among those hit, though she thanks her lucky stars it wasn't worse.
"A good 50 to 60 per cent of the Rainbow Serpent area was burned," she said.
"Basically all the campground and all the event area was destroyed by fire and a lot of trees had to be removed due to safety concerns."
Ms Briody said she was lucky that no stock was lost during the fire but the surrounding land held scars.
"It's still burning hot, it's still smouldering in the bush," she said.
"Until we get decent rain to suppress the dust and ash ... it'll probably take a winter season to get it back to how it should be."
Festival future
Rainbow Serpent is among a long line of festivals that have been either cancelled or postponed this summer.
In New South Wales, the popular Lost Paradise festival was cancelled due to the risk of bushfire, while the Falls Festival event planned in Lorne met the same fate.
But instead of cancelling the Rainbow Serpent festival, organisers have arranged a one-day "city edition" of the event.
Speaking to triple j's Hack on Thursday, organiser Tim Harvey said he and others were "actively considering" moving next year's festival to Easter.
It would be a move applauded by Ms Briody.
"It's just too dangerous in January," she said.
"We have a duty of care, we have a conscience."
Ms Briody said she'd support the festival being held permanently outside the fire danger period.
"The festival pulls in so many wonderful people from so many avenues of life, and just to think that anyone could get hurt," she said.
"I think it's been running on our property for 10 years, and I think in 10 years we've been fairly lucky that nothing major has happened."
