MADRID, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The President of the Spanish controlled Canary Islands, Angel Victor Torres, said on Tuesday that the wildfire which has devastated parts of the northeast of the island of Gran Canaria and caused evacuations of around 10,000 people is "remitting and lost potential."

The fire began on Friday and has raged out of control for four days, aided by high winds, temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius and low humidity levels of under 20 percent. Flames in some areas were over 50 meters high.

These adverse conditions have so far frustrated the efforts of around 1,000 firefighters aided by 11 helicopters and five airplanes. But Torres had some good news on Tuesday morning when he announced on his Twitter account that "after visiting the area technicians tell me that the fire is remitting...and losing potential."

Torres' words were echoed by Luis Planas, Spain's acting Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, who flew to Gran Canaria on Monday.

"The news this (Tuesday) morning is positive... Today is vital because we have more favorable weather conditions to attack the fire, limit its effects and then extinguish it," he told Spanish national radio station RNE.

Torres said some of the evacuees could be able to return to their homes soon, but admitted the flames have so far devastated around 12,000 hectares, including parts of the Tamadaba National Park, which is the home of the greatest biological diversity on the island.

Torres added that investigations continue into the cause of the fire and commented that "in the majority of cases like this people are responsible, either by accident or carelessness or a deliberate act".

Monday saw the publication of a report in Spain which confirmed that from the start of 2019 until Aug. 11, wildfires had burned around 57,700 hectares of scrub, woodland and pasture in Spain, over three times the amount of damage caused in the same period in 2018.