(CNN) The toll of the wildfires that ravaged Gatlinburg,Tennessee, in recent weeks is staggering: 14 people dead, another 175 injured, and more than 2,400 houses, businesses and other structures destroyed.

Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters estimates the damage to be more than $500 million. The federal government says nearly 20,000 acres of Great Smoky Mountains National Park have been scorched.

As the full extent of the catastrophic damage reveals itself , authorities -- who early on suspected arson -- said the blaze was man-made.

Or, more aptly, juvenile-made.

Two Tennessee youths are sitting in a Sevier County detention center.

If convicted of aggravated arson , they could go to prison for 60 years.

If more serious charges, including first-degree murder, are levied against them and they are convicted, they could spend the rest of their lives in prison.

But, for some in Gatlinburg, it won't matter.

"If in fact they did set the fire, and they did it on purpose," began Kent Emmons, whose home was destroyed, "I cannot think of a punishment severe enough for them."

Drought, winds fuel fire

Authorities have said the firestorm began with an initial fire that was lit November 23 in the Chimney Tops area of the national park along the Tennessee-North Carolina border.

Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast An aerial photo shows Gatlinburg, Tennessee, on Tuesday, November 29 -- a day after wildfires hit the city. Gatlinburg city officials declared mandatory evacuations in several areas as firefighters battled at least 14 fires in and around the city. More than 30 large wildfires have left a trail of destruction through North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky, according to the US Forest Service. Hide Caption 1 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Polo Gutierrez climbs onto the foundation of a destroyed home to try to see if his apartment building is still standing in Gatlinburg on November 29. Gutierrez fled his apartment with other residents as fires approached the previous night. Hide Caption 2 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast A destroyed structure and vehicle are seen near Gatlinburg on November 29. Hide Caption 3 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast An Alamo Steakhouse was one of the Gatlinburg businesses destroyed by fire. Hide Caption 4 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Trevor Cates inspects the damage to the Banner Missionary Baptist Church in Gatlinburg on November 29. Hide Caption 5 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Two dormitories at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts were damaged from the wildfires that flared near Gatlinburg on November 29. Hide Caption 6 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Photographer Bruce McCamish captured this image of the fires burning behind the Dollywood Dreammore Resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Hide Caption 7 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Fires burn on both sides of Highway 441 between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge on Monday, November 28. Hide Caption 8 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Thick smoke looms in Gatlinburg on November 28. Hide Caption 9 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Officials from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park reported the closing of roads and several trails near Gatlinburg on November 28. Hide Caption 10 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Firefighter Layne Whitney checks the treetops while working to hold the northern head of the Rock Mountain Fire, north of Tate City, Georgia, on Tuesday, November 22. Hide Caption 11 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Flames from the Rock Mountain Fire silhouette a weather vane north of Clayton, Georgia, on Monday, November 21. Hide Caption 12 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Fire crews bring down a dead tree along Highway 9 near the community of Bat Cave, North Carolina, on Friday, November 18. Hide Caption 13 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast A helicopter picks up water from Thrasher Lake to help battle a wildfire in Amherst County, Virginia, on November 21. Hide Caption 14 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Eric Willey looks on from the porch of his home as a helicopter fights a wildfire in Tate City, Georgia, on Wednesday, November 16. Hide Caption 15 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Firefighters walk down a dirt road as a wildfire burns a hillside in Clayton, Georgia, on Tuesday, November 15. Hide Caption 16 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast A wildfire burns as it approaches Bat Cave, North Carolina, on November 15. Hide Caption 17 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Firefighters Valarie Lopez and Mark Tabaez work to cool hot spots in Clayton on November 15. A number of the fires are being investigated as suspected arson, but weather conditions are also responsible for the fires. Hide Caption 18 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Firefighter Kevin Zimmer works the wildfire in Clayton on November 15. Hide Caption 19 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Exhausted firefighters take a break in Waldens Creek, Tennessee, on Monday, November 14. Hide Caption 20 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast A haze hovers over the Atlanta skyline from a wildfire burning in the northwest part of Georgia on November 14. Hide Caption 21 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Assistant Fire Chief Brent Masey sprays water on a wildfire in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, on Thursday, November 10. Hide Caption 22 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast A helicopter carrying 240 gallons of water takes off in Lake Lure, North Carolina, on November 10. Hide Caption 23 of 24 Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast Smoke from the Party Rock fire spreads near Lake Lure on Wednesday, November 9. Hide Caption 24 of 24

Nearly a week later, on November 28, that fire -- incubated by the area's worst drought in nearly a decade, and fueled by erratic 70 mph wind gusts -- had grown into at least 14 fires, and the flames had reached Gatlinburg, a popular resort town some 10 miles away.

The fire department ordered residents and tourists to evacuate, some with only the clothes on their backs.

"If you're a person of prayer, we could use your prayers," Greg Miller, the town's fire chief, said as the fires grew.

'Everything is on the table'

"Everything is on the table," is how local prosecutor James Dunn categorizes the case against the juveniles, who remain unnamed publicly because of their ages. Among the unknowns are their ages, and whether prosecutors will charge them as adults.

Because the law prohibits the dissemination of practically all information in juvenile cases, Dunn was left with little else to tell reporters at a news conference announcing their arrests.

Perhaps that's why he repeated on four occasions: "Everything is on the table."

The only additional information Dunn has revealed was that both youths were set to have a bond hearing within 72 hours of their December 7 arrest. But more than a week later, the Sevier County Juvenile Court has not held such a hearing, nor has any been scheduled, according to Matthew Jones, the court's youth services officer.

CNN reached out to the two defense attorneys who have, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel , been retained by each of the juveniles' families, but messages left for both have not been returned.

'This is pretty complicated'

Although they've levied charges, authorities have ostensibly not yet determined what -- if any -- intentions they think the accused may have had, hence their leaving of "everything on the table" when it comes to the possibility of more — and more severe -- charges.

So, while authorities continue to investigate, here is a look at what could be "on the table" in the state of Tennessee:

"This is pretty complicated," says CNN legal analyst Danny Cevallos. "Depending on the facts of the case, even if they didn't intend to kill anyone, they still could be charged with first-degree murder."

According to Cevallos, that's because the statute defining first-degree murder in Tennessee includes the "killing of another committed in the perpetration of or attempt to perpetrate," several specific offenses, among them arson.

In Tennessee, conviction of first-degree murder carries life in prison, life without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty.

If authorities determine that the guilty party or parties did not intend to kill, but do not charge them with first-degree murder, then the two next most severe charges — second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter — would be off the table, according to Cevallos, because the former requires "an intentional killing," and the latter an "intentional killing with provocation."

Should that be the case then — that the intention was not to kill — Cevallos says the next most severe charges available to Tennessee authorities after first-degree murder would be reckless homicide, which is punishable by up to 12 years in prison, or criminally negligent homicide, which is up to six years.

Of course, for either to be tried on any of these charges, each would have to be tried as an adult.

And that is something, according to Dunn, that is still on the table.