Fungi firefighters? A Boulder mushroom company’s solution to wildfires is quintessentially Colorado

More than 3 million Coloradans live in the Wildland-Urban Interface, positioning their homes at greater risk from the smoke and flames of wildfires. As more people live, work and play in these areas, preventing wildfires becomes increasingly important. Now, one Boulder resident is confronting the heat, but he’s not using the typical mitigation measures you might expect.   

“We believe by using fungi and biological solutions, we can help facilitate carbon sequestration, we can facilitate creating healthy soils, and do so in a way which is ecologically sound and sustainable,” says Zach Hedstrom of Boulder Mushroom. His company studies the benefits of mushrooms — from their medicinal qualities to their surprising potential to, yes, prevent wildfires.

Hedstrom points to saprophytic fungi, which he calls “nature’s recyclers” because of their ability to break down wood from dead or fallen trees — a fuel for wildfires.

KUNC reporter Emma VandenEinde joins host Erin O'Toole to share more about this potential solution.