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Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried says the 650 acre wildfire near Panama City was started by a backyard rubbish fire that got out of hand.

Fried says if not for all the debris still on the ground from Hurricane Michael, the fire would have been significantly smaller.

She says the fire points to greater danger ahead.

“It should not have spread to begin with, but the fact that it started to spread and under normal circumstances without all the timber on the ground, it would have been a couple of hours to put out, five acres. But the fact we have all this fuel on the ground we’re getting 668 acres that are up in fire and forty-eight hours to put it out. And risking twenty to thirty homes in that community,” said Fried.

Nearly $2 billion was lot in timber alone during Hurricane Michael.

Much of it is still on the ground, posing a greater than usual fire danger in the months ahead.