Shambhala Music Festival has officially announced it will be held in July for the first time ever next summer.

The iconic electronic music festival has been held on the second weekend of August for over two decades, however, that date will now be changed to July 24 to 27. 

According to the festival’s founder Jim Bundschuh, the province's increased wildfire risk has sparked the date change.

"We stand at the precipice of a new era, that's not lost on anyone in the Kootenays here in British Columbia. We know the planet is in a period of rapid transition and our date change is just one more reflection of our commitment to our guests and the music community as a whole," said Bundschuh. 

"Our guests' safety and security is our number one priority." 

Photo Credit: BananaCam.

Over the last decade, the region's fire district has reported an annual average of 11 days of "high" and four days of "extreme" fire risk during July.

That's compared to an average of 16 days high risk and six days extreme risk in the region for August. 

In 2017, a nearby wildfire forced the popular festival to close a day early and evacuate thousands of attendees. 

However, organizers did eventually host the final night of festivities following some unexpected rainfall.