Thousands of music lovers will start to descend on Salmo, B.C. on Thursday for the start of Shambhala Music Festival.

The four day event is one of the most popular electronic music festivals on the planet, attracting people from all over the world.

Photo Credit: Shambhala Music Festival

Organizing a music festival isn’t easy, and those in charge of Shambhala are dealing with an extra curveball this year.

The McCormick Creek wildfire is burning around 30-40 kilometres away from the festival grounds and there is an evacuation alert in place.

Photo Credit: BC Wildfire ServiceThe fire is about 30-40 kilometres away from the Shambhala site.

While that alert doesn’t affect Shambhala at this time, organizers have taken every possible precaution by issuing an alert of their own to anyone attending.

“In the interest of public safety, we would like to inform our guests and the public that there is an evacuation alert near the festival grounds,” the statement said. “We are currently communicating with local government to stay ahead of the situation.”

Photo Credit: Eye of the Mind

The festival suggests that guests plan for an early departure, just in case, and to have a well-rested designated driver throughout the festival.

The McCormick Creek wildfire is currently listed at 75 hectares in size with 20 firefighters, four helicopters, four air tankers and one piece of heavy equipment battling the blaze.

Photo Credit: Shambhala Music Festival.