You had a Protozoa. Fascinating things.
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?? Protozoa, I was told it was fungi. Its bright yellow and creaps like liquid but definitely had fruiting bodies that shot spores in a light yellow powder. And only had it once in 8 years, it never returned, that spring was unreasonably wet, more rain, and cooler.
If it’s what I’m thinking of, it’s Fuligo septica, which is a slime mold (not a fungus). I got it all over my wood chips this year. I thought it was a fungus, too, until I looked it up!
I was originally annoyed about it, 'cause . . . well, it’s called dog vomit slime mold because that’s exactly what it looks like. Blargh! But then I found out it’s edible and tastes like scrambled eggs, so . . . I think I’ll probably give it a taste next time I see it, and if I think it’s tasty, I’ll start calling it “scrambled egg slime mold,” which is its second most common name. 
No way! Ill trust you. It doesn’took appetizing, just hoping my garden could benefit.
@Kimzy I get a lot of slime molds on mulch here in the Denver area; they are weird bright-yellow-to-orange growths like you describe; they suddenly appear overnight, and after a week or so they dry up and blow away. Seems to happen after mulch gets thoroughly wet and then starts to dry out.
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Ha ha ha ha! Yes, it doesn’t look appetizing at all! I’m gonna have to steel myself to try it.
It’s supposed to be an excellent decomposer, so it should be good for the soil.
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I get the most years in couple year old wood chip mulch. Always in the spring, with the combination of warm days following a soaking rain.
And yes, slime molds are a type of Protozoa, so we’re all talking about the same thing.
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Yes, thats what happened with the fresh wood chips.