brushfire

Etymology

From brush + fire.

brushfire means A large fire in a scrubland or prairie, as opposed to a forest fire, which occurs in forests. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 89 out of 100.

noun

A large fire in a scrubland or prairie, as opposed to a forest fire, which occurs in forests.
A war that arises suddenly and is limited in scope or area.“It may be a brushfire operation or an operation on the scale of the Korean war; it will certainly not involve the home territories of the United States and Soviet Russia as theaters of hostilities.”