Overview
- Sonoma County health officials confirmed a resident died over the past weekend after eating wild mushrooms, marking the third California fatality since mid-November.
- State and local reports cite about 35 poisoning cases statewide between Nov. 18 and Jan. 4, with three patients requiring liver transplants.
- Interim county health officer Dr. Michael Stacey said early rains and a mild fall produced a profusion of toxic death cap mushrooms in Northern California.
- Authorities warn that poisonous species cannot be made safe by cooking, boiling, drying, or freezing.
- Symptoms often begin 6–24 hours after ingestion and can briefly improve before severe liver injury develops 2–3 days later, so officials urge immediate medical care and advise buying mushrooms only from trusted retailers while keeping children and pets away from wild mushrooms.