Story highlights Residents and business owners near Gatlinburg allowed to return to their properties

Fire began on November 27 and spread to 17,000 acres

(CNN) Two juveniles face charges of aggravated arson in connection with a deadly Tennessee wildfire that began in late November and spread to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, according to Mark Gwyn, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Additional charges are being considered, 4th District Attorney General James Dunn said, including the possibility of seeking a transfer to adult criminal court.

He said the youths were from Tennessee, but not from Sevier County, where the fires started. Neither their ages nor genders were released.

Fourteen people lost their lives in the fires and more than 175 more were injured, according to officials. Residents and visitors to the resort-heavy area were among the dead.

Thank you to everyone who has sent in tips about the #ChimneyTops2Fire in @GreatSmokyNPS. Reach us at https://t.co/IUL3CWMD9N

NPS photo/ISB pic.twitter.com/FmDKSsJViE — SpecialAgentNPS (@SpecialAgentNPS) December 3, 2016

fires gnawed away more than 17,000 acres and 2,460 structures, scorching homes, cabins and The so-called Chimney Tops and Cobbly Nobfires gnawed away more than 17,000 acres and 2,460 structures, scorching homes, cabins and churches along a fiery path through Sevier County.

Read More</s>Two juveniles have been arrested and charged with arson in connection with the deadly wildfires that broke out last month in Tennessee, the state Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.</s>The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, local District Attorney General James Dunn and Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced charges at a news conference Wednesday, but released few other specifics about the juveniles or how the fires started.

Dunn said the juveniles face aggravated arson charges in the fire in the Chimney Tops area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Nov. 23. Amid hurricane-force winds, the fire spread to the Gatlinburg area early last week, causing widespread damage. They’re being held in the Sevier County juvenile detention center.

“Our promise is that we will do every effort to help bring closure to those who have lost so much,” said Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Mark Gwyn.

The juveniles are from Tennessee, but not Sevier County, where the fires spread. Otherwise, officials said state law prevents releasing more information about them.

The investigation is ongoing and more charges could come. It’s also possible that the case could be transferred to an adult criminal court, Dunn said.

The juveniles are entitled to a detention hearing within 72 hours in which a juvenile court judge will decide to hold them without bond, hold them with bond, or release them, Dunn said.

Dunn constantly said everything was “part of the investigation” when asked for details.

Asked if others could be charged in the fire, Dunn repeated that “everything’s on the table.”

Last week’s wildfires destroyed much of the Gatlinburg area, damaging or destroying an estimated 1,600 homes and business and leaving at least 14 people dead.

Arson charges have been placed against two juveniles in the Sevier County wildfire investigation, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reported in a tweet this afternoon.

"Our promise is that we will do our very best to help bring closure to those who have lost so much,” TBI Director Mark Gwyn was quoted as saying in a second tweet.

Each of the juveniles has been charged with aggravated arson. TBI conducted a 3 p.m. news conference announcing the charges.

The TBI later said in a news release that an investigation by Special Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, National Park Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office resulted in the charges.

Last week, at the request of 4th District Attorney General James Dunn, TBI Special Agents began working alongside the National Park Service and ATF to investigate the wildfires that began last month. During the course of the investigation, information was developed that two juveniles allegedly started the fire.

Today, a petition was filed in juvenile court charging the juveniles with aggravated arson. Both were taken into custody and taken to the Sevier County Juvenile Detention Center.

Last week’s wildfires destroyed much of the Gatlinburg area, damaging or destroying an estimated 1,600 homes and business and leaving at least 14 people dead.

This is a developing story. Keep visiting JohnsonCityPress.com for more details.</s>SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. — Authorities have charged two juveniles with starting an East Tennessee wildfire that killed 14 people and destroyed or damaged more than 1,700 buildings.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, local District Attorney General James Dunn and Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced charges at a news conference Wednesday.

Dunn said the juveniles face aggravated arson charges for the fire in the Chimney Tops area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Nov. 23. The fire spread to the Gatlinburg area, causing widespread damage. They're being held in the Sevier County juvenile detention center.

They said the juveniles are from Tennessee, but not Sevier County. Officials said state law prevents releasing more information about them.

The investigation is ongoing and more charges could come. They said it's possible they would move the case into adult courts.</s>Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesman Josh DeVine declined to release details about the juveniles, who have been arrested, citing their ages and the ongoing investigation.

The fires have been centered in Sevier County just east of Knoxville and have damaged or destroyed more than 1,750 structures, local and federal authorities said in a statement.

It was the highest death toll from wildfires in the United States since 2013, when 19 firefighters died near Prescott, Arizona.

"Our promise is that we will do our very best to help bring closure to those who have lost so much," Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Mark Gwyn said in a statement.

The two youths were charged with aggravated arson and were held at a juvenile detention center in Sevier County, the bureau said in a statement.

It added that authorities from the National Park Service, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Sevier County Sheriff's Office participated in the probe.

The largest of the blazes, the so-called Chimney Tops 2, broke out on Nov. 23 in a remote rugged area dubbed Chimney Tops in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, authorities said.

Fed by drought-parched brush and trees and stoked by fierce winds, the flames quickly spread, turning into an inferno that roared out of the park. Thousands of people were forced to evacuate their homes and businesses.

Authorities have said since last week that the fire was human caused.

A large amount of the damage was in Gatlinburg, known as the "gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains," in eastern Tennessee, about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Knoxville.

At one point, residents of Pigeon Forge, which is home to country music star Dolly Parton's theme park Dollywood, were forced to leave the area. Dollywood has since re-opened.

Parton and other performers will put on a show Dec. 13 on the Great American Country channel to raise funds for people affected by the fires, Parton's company said in a statement.

The Chimney Tops 2 Fire is 64 percent contained after burning more than 17,000 acres (6,880 hectares), according to the government tracking website InciWeb.

Rainfall over the last week has helped firefighters control the blazes.</s>The identities of the suspects have not been revealed as they are juveniles, local District Attorney General James Dunn said.

Two juveniles have been charged with aggravated arson in connection with a deadly Tennessee wildfire that began in late November and spread to Gatlinburg, authorities said Wednesday. The wildfires killed 14 people and injured nearly 150 others.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, local District Attorney General James Dunn and Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced the charges. Earlier, investigation revealed that "two juveniles allegedly started the fire.” Both were taken into custody Wednesday morning and are being held at the Sevier County Juvenile Detention Center.

The identities of the suspects have not been revealed as they are juveniles, Dunn said.

Dunn said the fire started Nov. 23 in the Chimney Tops area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and spread into Gatlinburg.

Katerina Mills, a 45-year-old who has been staying in a shelter since the wildfire started, told the Washington Post that though the suspected offenders were juveniles, she didn’t feel any sympathy for them.

“Age shouldn’t matter on something like this,” Mills said. “There were so many lives lost in this fire, due to this fire, and due to them being inconsiderate. There were so many lives lost. Animals’ lives lost. Humans’ lives lost. ”

The so-called Chimney Tops and Cobbly Nob fires engulfed more than 17,000 acres and 2,460 structures. More than 1,750 structures were damaged or destroyed in the fires.

Heavy rains in recent days helped contain much of the fire. As of Wednesday, the fire was 82 percent contained, fire officials reported.

"Even though the fire is not 100 percent contained, the areas opening to the public have been deemed safe," a report on the InciWeb website said.</s>Two juveniles face charges of aggravated arson in connection with a deadly Tennessee wildfire that began in late November and spread to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, according to Mark Gwyn, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Additional charges are being considered, 4th District Attorney General James Dunn said, including the possibility of seeking a transfer to adult criminal court.

Fourteen people lost their lives in the fires and a further 134 were injured, according to officials. Residents and visitors to the resort-heavy area were among the dead.

Developing story - more to come</s>Two juveniles face charges of aggravated arson in connection with a deadly Tennessee wildfire that began in late November and spread to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, according to Mark Gwyn, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Additional charges are being considered, 4th District Attorney General James Dunn said, including the possibility of seeking a transfer to adult criminal court.

He said the youths were from Tennessee, but not from Sevier County, where the fires started. Neither their ages nor genders were released.

Fourteen people lost their lives in the fires and a further 134 were injured, according to officials. Residents and visitors to the resort-heavy area were among the dead.

The area is a popular tourist destination in eastern Tennessee, home to the Dollywood amusement park and the resort town of Pigeon Forge. Recent heavy rains helped extinguish much of the fire. As of Wednesday, the fire was 64% contained, fire officials reported. Developing story - more to come</s>NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Authorities on Wednesday charged two juveniles in an East Tennessee wildfire that killed 14 people and destroyed or damaged more than 1,700 buildings in an iconic tourism spot at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Officials offered few other specifics about how they think the two started a fire that leveled buildings into charred scraps, carving a deadly path through the Gatlinburg area.

People scrambled in terror to try to flee on foot or drive out of the inferno that often cloaked them from all sides, shooting hot embers through the winds. Some spent days hoping for good news about their missing loved ones. Many learned they would soon be planning funerals.

The juveniles face aggravated arson charges in the fire in the Chimney Tops area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Nov. 23. That fire grew amid drought conditions and ultimately rode winds exceeding 87 miles per hour into the Gatlinburg area early last week. Authorities have not yet announced a dollar amount on the damaged caused by the wildfire.

The two are being held in the Sevier County juvenile detention center.

"Our promise is that we will do every effort to help bring closure to those who have lost so much," said Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Mark Gwyn.

The juveniles are from Tennessee, but not Sevier County, where the fires spread. Otherwise, officials said state law prevents releasing more information about them.

Karyssa Dalton, a 19-year-old whose grandmother Pamela Johnson remains missing in the blaze, said the two should be held accountable, even though they're young.

"I mean, what if somebody came through their town, and set their town on fire, and lost their loved ones, and lost all their homes?" Dalton said. "It's not fair."

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Chief Ranger Steve Kloster said the public was "critical" in offering investigators information through a tip line. Previously, the National Park Service said it believed the fire was human caused, and set up a tip line for people to call if they hiked that trail on Nov. 23, or knew anyone who did.

The investigation is ongoing and more charges could come. It's also possible that the case could be transferred to an adult criminal court, said local District Attorney General James Dunn.

The juveniles are entitled to a detention hearing within 72 hours in which a juvenile court judge will decide to hold them without bond, hold them with bond, or release them, Dunn said.

Dunn constantly said everything was "part of the investigation" when asked for details.

Asked if others could be charged in the fire, Dunn repeated that "everything's on the table."

"We don't know," he said.

On Wednesday, Gatlinburg residents and business owners were allowed to move back into homes and establishments permanently. They had been allowed to visit during daytime hours since last Friday.

The city is slated to open to the public on Friday morning. Though swaths of the city were decimated, the main downtown strip appears to have been spared.</s>SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. — Authorities on Wednesday charged two juveniles in an East Tennessee wildfire that killed 14 people and destroyed or damaged more than 1,700 buildings.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, local District Attorney General James Dunn and Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced charges at a news conference Wednesday, but released few other specifics about the juveniles or how the fires started.

Dunn said the juveniles face aggravated arson charges in the fire in the Chimney Tops area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Nov. 23. Amid hurricane-force winds, the fire spread to the Gatlinburg area early last week, causing widespread damage. They're being held in the Sevier County juvenile detention .

"Our promise is that we will do every effort to help bring closure to those who have lost so much," said Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Mark Gwyn.

The juveniles are from Tennessee, but not Sevier County, where the fires spread. Otherwise, officials said state law prevents releasing more information about them.

The investigation is ongoing and more charges could come. It's also possible that the case could be transferred to an adult criminal court, Dunn said.

The juveniles are entitled to a detention hearing within 72 hours in which a juvenile court judge will decide to hold them without bond, hold them with bond, or release them, Dunn said.

Dunn constantly said everything was "part of the investigation" when asked for details.

Asked if others could be charged in the fire, Dunn repeated that "everything's on the table."
Two juveniles are charged with aggravated arson in relation to the wildfires that claimed 14 lives in the US town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee.