Mushroom Hunting Heating Up in Wake of Northwest Wildfires

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — From flames come fungi. That means mushroom hunters are checking maps outlining last year's many Northwest wildfires before heading into forests this month searching for the easily identifiable and woodsy-tasting morels.

The spongey-looking delicacies have defied commercial cultivation and can retail for $20 a pound. The National Interagency Fire Center says nearly a million acres of U.S. Forest Service land burned last year in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, much of it now prime mushroom-hunting territory. Maps of specific wildfire perimeters are available online at the Forest Service's InciWeb.

Harvesters who want the mushrooms for personal use can gather up to 5 gallons a day without a permit. On expert says getting away from roads and hiking into the forest is a good strategy to find more mushrooms.