Question
Hi Jim,  I recently purchased a cord of firewood consisting of Douglas Fir and Alder. The wood was seasoned but damp as it had been rained on. Many of the fir pieces have black streaks running with the grain, it's hard to tell if the streaks are just ON the wood or IN the wood. Recently, the black streaks are developing a bright greenish white fuzz on the surface (fruiting bodies?)which may be growing out of the black streaks (or is it possible it is a secondary mold infectioned on the diseased areas?).  My concern is that if this is Black Stain Root Disease, (or something equally destructive), do I have to worry about cross contamination from spores, etc?  I have the wood in my garage in close proximity to all my camping and outdoor gear....by then using this equipment in in a healthy forest, could I actually spread the disease to healthy trees(if it is indeed Black Stain Disease or something similar)? Would it be going too far to take a piece into my local USFS branch to have it looked at? Am I being overly concerned?  Thanks, Jed

Answer
In the stem, Black stain Root Disease  in cross-section  appears as narrow bands following the spring wood growth rings  Stained sapwood may be resin-soaked.
Another stain type disease, Blue-stain will appear in a wedge-shaped pattern  rather than in bands following annual rings. Here is a link to pictures of these two and the differences.  http://www.pfc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/diseases/CTD/Group/Root/root5_e.html#4d

Black stain and blue stain are both spread by beetles entering the tree either at the roots or the main stem. You can not spread either disease by the spores getting on your equipment and going into the forest.
It will not hurt anything to burn this wood.

If it will make you fell better you can call the USFS office and see if they have someone who can ID these diseases. But I do not think there is a problem with the spread.