Wildfire is everywhere (4)

I believe the answer is:

rife

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'is everywhere' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

I don't understand the rest of the clue.

(Other definitions for rife that I've seen before include "is everywhere" , "Widespread sort of fire" , "Widespread like fire" , "Of widespread occurrence" , "Very common or frequently occurring" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

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