{"id":168329,"date":"2026-02-07T17:49:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T17:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/168329\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T17:49:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T17:49:10","slug":"death-cap-mushrooms-kill-4-in-california-as-toxic-fungi-thrive-in-freak-weather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/168329\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Death cap&#8217; mushrooms kill 4 in California as toxic fungi thrive in freak weather"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Move over Hollywood \u2014 California\u2019s latest horror hit isn\u2019t on the screen, it\u2019s sprouting from the forest floor. <\/p>\n<p>A freak weather-fueled super-bloom of Death Cap mushrooms \u2014 the world\u2019s most infamous toxic fungi \u2014 has turned casual foragers into tragic headlines.<\/p>\n<p>Since mid-November, four people have died, three <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/tests-procedures\/liver-transplant\/about\/pac-20384842\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">required life-saving liver transplants<\/a> and more than three dozen fell ill after mistaking these killers for a side-dish, according to multiple media reports.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38419066\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/photo-provided-california-department-public-120622354.jpg\" alt=\"mushrooms\" class=\"wp-image-38419066\"  \/>Death Cap mushrooms have killed four people in California. AP<\/p>\n<p>Typically, California sees fewer than five poisonings a year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdph.ca.gov\/Programs\/OPA\/Pages\/CAHAN\/Increase-in-mushroom-poisonings-in-California%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B-.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">according to the California Department of Public Health<\/a> (CPH), but warm autumn temps and early rains have created the perfect fungi apocalypse.<\/p>\n<p>The government agency has not officially banned <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/12\/07\/us-news\/calif-officials-warn-against-foraging-wild-mushrooms-after-deadly-poisoning-outbreak\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">wild mushroom foraging<\/a>, but it has issued urgent health advisories against the practice and consuming wild mushrooms, especially in high-risk areas like the Bay Area and Monterey.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/01\/19\/us-news\/death-cap-mushroom-outbreak-sickens-at-least-35-across-california\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The death cap is one of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world<\/a> and is part of a small group of mushrooms containing amatoxins, which are highly potent compounds causing 90% of fatal mushroom poisonings globally. <\/p>\n<p>They are in city parks and in forests, often under oak trees, warned the CPH.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople who pick mushrooms have to be incredibly careful,\u201d Julie Schreiber, an expert with the North American Mycologocal Association, told The Post. \u201cThere is no telltale sign of difference between the poisonous mushrooms and edible mushrooms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have to be 100% CERTAIN before you ingest these mushrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.63317384;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38419164\" width=\"964\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/120622352.jpg\" alt=\"picturesque valley in califorina\" class=\"wp-image-38419164\"  \/>California officials have issued urgent warnings about Death Cap mushrooms. Bo Chen\/Wirestock Creators \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n<p>Symptoms start within with nausea, cramps, diarrhea and vomiting within six to 24 hours \u2014 and can even seem to improve \u2014 before a deadly crash occurs 48-96 hours after eating.<\/p>\n<p>Many patients required admittance to intensive care units. <\/p>\n<p>Victims range from a 19-month-old toddler to an 67-year-old adult.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Move over Hollywood \u2014 California\u2019s latest horror hit isn\u2019t on the screen, it\u2019s sprouting from the forest floor.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,4589,48069,48067,3586],"class_list":["post-168329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-deaths","tag-food-poisoning","tag-mushrooms","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}