August is the month of popular events, pilgrimages and parties, but the south of Tenerife is not up for many parties this year, after the serious fire that is ravaging a large part of the island’s forest mass, in response to which the different municipalities are proceeding to suspensions, cancellations and modifications, with the aim of freeing up troops that might be necessary to fight the fire.
If in previous days the announcements arrived with a dropper, yesterday was the official announcements by the different municipalities of the Region announcing their decision not to hire specialists in the field of security, be it firefighters or Civil Protection personnel.
One of them, for more than obvious reasons, was Candelaria, who sent out a statement announcing the suspension of this weekend’s events as part of the festivities in honor of the General Patron Saint of the Canary Islands. The mayor, Mari Brito, explained that “given the current situation, it is necessary to concentrate all efforts and resources on putting out this fire,” she said.
Along the same lines, the Granadilla de Abona City Council did the same thing yesterday afternoon, according to what municipal sources informed this newspaper.
For his part, the mayor of Fasnia, Luis Javier González Delgado, announced the corporation’s decision to cancel the 2023 patron saint festivities in honor of San Joaquín, since, he stressed, “the resources and efforts of the municipal staff are prepared to collaborate with the emergency and extinction teams, to control and extinguish the fire as soon as possible.
In Arafo, Juan Ramón Martín said, along the same lines, that “the acts of the patron saint festivities of San Agustín and San Bernardo are suspended until Sunday”, although the great pilgrimage, scheduled for August 26, is maintained for the moment.
The Arico City Council has suspended the celebration of the XXXI Torch “For the unity of Arico and solidarity among its people”, which was to take place today on the occasion of the Patron Saint Festivities of Our Lady of Abona.
Likewise, other events in the weekend programming of both La Listada and El Río have been canceled and the use of fireworks has been prohibited. The consistory is in constant coordination with the competent authorities and will continue to request updated information on the evolution of the emergency, as explained by its mayoress, Olivia Delgado.
In Adeje, the El Puertito festival commission has suspended the fireworks and San Miguel de Abona had no planned events.
