Lascassas and Walter Hill volunteer firefighters battling a woods fire Wednesday afternoon discovered an active moonshine still off Old Halls Hill Pike, Sheriff Robert Arnold said. 

Deputies talked to neighbors but were unable to determine who owned the still. The owners of the property were believed not to be aware of the illegal still.

The still consisted of a small Coleman stove and a two-gallon stainless steel pot that contained the mash to make the whiskey, Sheriff Arnold said. Coming out of the pot was a copper line leading to a bucket to cool it off.

“They’ve definitely been cooking,” Arnold said. “It was not actually cooking. They had cooked the last day or so.”

Deputy Chief Virgil Gammon said this is the first moonshine still found since the early 1970s in the county.

A narcotics detective, Sgt. Glenn Morton and Deputy Todd Hammond recovered one-half gallon of apple pie moonshine and one quart of regular moonshine. The ingredients of apple juice, apple cider and cinnamon sticks were found at the site. They dismantled the still.

Based on the size of the materials, the sheriff estimated the still as a small operation.

Deputies talked to neighbors but were unable to determine who owned the still. The owners of the property were believed aware of the illegal still.

“We don’t think the still started the fire,” Sheriff Arnold said, adding the fire could have started from a cigarette butt tossed out at the scene.

Sheriff Arnold thanked the volunteer firefighters who found the still and notified the sheriff’s office.

“This is teamwork that benefits the county,” Sheriff Arnold said.