Salamanders known as “newts” that occur along the west coast of North America include four species Taricha torosa, Taricha granulosa, Taricha rivularis, and Taricha sierrae. These newts occur from southern California, all the way to Alaska, and are generally thought to be quite common; however, they  may be experiencing a new threat. Recent online non-peer reviewed reports identify enigmatic mass mortality events across their range. Disease is a leading contributor to global amphibian declines, as evidenced by epizootics caused by the fungal pathogens Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and may be implicated in newt die offs, but this has not been investigated. In order to document the extent of mass mortality events in western newts and determine whether Bd may be implicated, we conducted two broad surveys and collected disease data at three focal populations  In our first survey, we used community science data from iNaturalist to search for examples of emaciated newts across the entire range. In our second, we targeted herpetologists conducting research within Taricha’s range; and, third, we selected three focal sites where emaciated animals and mass die-offs had been observed. At these focal sites we collected repeated disease diagnostic data and environmental data to determine whether these variables were correlated with emaciated and dying newts (e.g., skin swabs, body condition, and water quality measurements). The three focal populations were located at Point Reyes National Seashore, CA (PR), Briones Regional Park, CA (BR), and Pine Lake, WA (PL). At these sites, mass die offs were reported in 1991 (PR), 2014 (PR), 2020 (BR), and 2021-2023 (PL). The iNaturalist survey included 84,596 observations (2013-2023), of the 5,000 we analyzed, we identified 65 sites with photos of emaciated newts. The herpetologist survey identified 12 sites with the presence of emaciated or dead newts, and 3 sites with mass die-offs.  At our focal study sites, we collected 349 skin swabs at PR ( 243 in 2014, and 106 in 2023), 64 from  PL (2023), and 14 from BR (x in 2020, and 14 in 2023). In addition, we collected 8 swabs from preserved museum specimens at University of California Berkeley (specimens collected in 1991) from PR, all other samples were collected from live animals at the focal sites. At our focal sites, we found higher prevalence of Bd infection and Bd intensity than previously reported in Taricha.  In 2023 we found  34.9% of samples were Bd-infected at PR (37 Bd positive out of 106 total), 46.9% at PL (30 out of 64), and 78% at BR (11 out of 14). Thus, while our data should be considered preliminary, they indicate that Bd may be implicated in emaciation and mass-die offs of western newts. However, we suggest that additional data is needed to understand whether Bd is the causative factor or a secondary outcome of a more potent unknown reason for these events.