A new venue has been secured for Falls Festival in as little as 24 hours after organisers were left with little choice but to cancel or find an alternative to the fire-ravaged Victorian surf coast.
The festival, which was due to take place in Lorne from Monday through to New Year's Day, has been moved to the Mount Duneed Estate in Geelong.
Falls Festival co-producer Jessica Ducrou said organisers were "really excited and thankful ... that our good friends at A Day On The Green have helped us secure a new venue for Falls Lorne, this year only".
Situated on a gentle slope looking down from a winery, the camping grounds have ample space for all festival-goers, Ms Ducrou said.
The decision was made following a meeting with emergency services on Saturday, after which the organisers decided the Lorne farm was too much of a fire risk at a time when the 2200-hectare blaze that destroyed 116 homes in nearby Wye River and Separation Creek continued to burn.
"The Falls Festival event producer's number one priority is always the safety of our patrons and our friends," Ms Ducrou said in a statement.
"With that in mind, we have spent the past 24 hours securing another Victorian venue for the event to continue."
'The right outcome'
Victoria's Fire Commissioner Craig Lapsley called the decision "the right outcome" for the safety of the community.
He said earlier that recent rain in the area would assist decision making about the event.
Authorities gave festival organisers modelling which showed the fire's potential movements.
"To talk about what it means for 17,000 people to be in the bush for a concert for up to four days," Mr Lapsley said.
The road to Lorne has been reopened, but it remains closed south of the town.
Lorne community deals with aftermath of Christmas Day bushfire
The Lorne community is expected to take a hit from the loss of tourism revenue that the 15,000 ticket holders of the festival would have brought before the Christmas Day bushfire.
At least 116 homes have been destroyed in the fire along the Great Ocean Road and firefighters warn the blaze could burn for weeks.
The 2000-hectare Jamieson Track fire is not yet under control, but residents of Lorne and nearby Allenvale have been allowed home, although a watch and act alert remains in place.
Premier Daniel Andrews said the destruction caused by the fire is heartbreaking.
"It's burnt right to the waters edge, this is a fast-running fire, an intensely hot fire and one where there is still smoke there," he said viewing the damage from the air.
"It is very evident the damage, the properties that have been lost, others that have been spared. It's that usual story, that sometimes there is no rhythm to this, it doesn't make a lot of sense in some ways."
Local community meetings have been held at relief centres in Apollo Bay and Torquay.
