Furious residents have been blanketed by black 'whiskey fungus' after Jack Daniel's . 
The mold is fueled by ethanol vapor releasing into the air, leading nearby properties, road signs and vehicles to be routinely covered in the sooty smog.  
DailyMail.com visited the scene to find the fungus has wreaked havoc on the small town of Lynchburg, which is under the shadow of the booze giant's iconic distillery. 
Many are also questioning whether the fungus is impacting their health and destroying the surrounding air quality, leading one defiant local to wage a legal war to bring the growing mold to a halt.
Dubbed 'whiskey fungus', the mold has coated the small Tennessee community since the emissions first began leaking from the Jack Daniel's plants in 2018, before ramping up in recent years as the company expands its barrel house operation. 
Whiskey fungus has blanketed a small Tennessee community, causing huge damage while raising fears over its potential health risks
One resident said he has had to pay roughly $10,000 to power wash the fungus off his home
The sooty smog has enraged Tennessee residents after their outdoor spaces became covered
A nearby woodland has been coated in the growth for years, and residents have expressed concern over the damage it may have caused to local wildlife
The fungus has spread over a mile from each of the barrel houses across Lincoln and Moore Counties, as it is able to latch onto outdoor surfaces after being exposed to ethanol vapor. 
And infuriated locals are now demanding the company is held responsible for the damage to their town, which has grown so prevalent that officials no longer clean street signs and simply replace them after they become illegible. 
Patrick Long, who lived across the street from the barrel houses with his wife, won a lawsuit Wednesday forcing Jack Daniel's to cease and desist construction of new barrel houses in Lincoln County. 
But while he said it was a victory, he told DailyMail.com the ruling was 'really more of a delay tactic' of between 60 to 90 days as the community battles to stop the rot. 
He added that the Lynchburg community is dominated by the Jack Daniel's distillery, feeling that its presence throughout the area and history as an employer in the town could influence support for holding the company responsible. 
As the fungus continues to ravage the town, home values have plummeted while the community fears for their health.  
'It's in the air.

And you really, probab.
'I'm a strong, healthy person and this should not have happened.

I can't prove it was from this ethanol, latest news miami but somebody needs to prove that it is not.'
The community is demanding air filtration systems, which cost around $300,000, be installed in the barrel houses to stop the ethanol emissions from escaping, an issue that has plagued the immediate area for years. 
An environmental impact study is also being sought, as residents continue to be left in the dark over the health risks posed by the fungus. 
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Christi Long, left, and her husband Patrick, right, have launched a legal challenge against the booze giant after the fungus invaded their Lynchburg, Tennessee, community
The mold has been blamed upon the barrel houses on the Jack Daniel's Tennessee distillery, which has over 100,000 barrels 
Residents are fighting back to stop the spread of the mold, which has blanketed outdoor surfaces for miles
The black mold has spiraled out on control in recent times, an issue some are blaming on the Jack Daniel's company's expansion of its barrel facilities
Dead cows were spotted in the area that has been overrun by the fungus.

It is not known if the mold is the reason
Latching onto any outdoor surface, the fungus has devastated local wildlife and covered homes and street signs
Locals have raised concerns about unknown health risks and poor air quality as a result of the fungus
Buildings and outdoor spaces in the area are now covered in a dingy black soot
Homeowners have been forced to pay to have their properties frequently jet washed due to the fungus
Outdoor surfaces are blanketed by the smog, which clings to vehicles throughout the Lynchburg area
The mold thrives on ethanol vapors that are released from whiskey barrels
While the issue has been plaguing the surrounding area for years, a recent expansion of barrel houses has led locals to claim it has worsened 
Long added that he has had to fork out roughly $10,000 to continually power wash his house, as only a powerful cocktail of water and Clorox is able to scrub off the mold.
'If you have any decent nails on you and you rode it down the side of a tree or a property within a quarter of a mile to a half-mile of these barrel houses, your entire finger will be covered in black fungus,' he said.
'You can't see the tree limbs anymore.

Our house, we have to have it pressure-washed four times a year now.'
While the issue reportedly sprang up in 2018, Long said that the fungus was not as prevalent when he bought his Lynchburg home in 2020, as the whiskey company was only using two barrel houses. 
But the mold has spiraled out of control since the number of facilities was upped to six, with the company planning on expanding its barrel house operation to 20 in the coming years. 
His wife Christi added that she and her husband filed their lawsuit because they believed Jack Daniel's expanded their number of barrel houses 'illegally', saying they intended to bring a permanent halt to the planned constructions.
'Here we are as District 6 spending our own personal dollars to stop a big corporation holding Lincoln County accountable,' she told