State arson charges have been dropped against two teen boys who authorities said set a blaze Nov. 23 that grew into an inferno that swept into Gatlinburg and parts of Sevier County five days later.

District Attorney General James Dunn said in a press release Friday that the state couldn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the original blaze inside the park that was allegedly set by the boys led to the Nov. 28 disaster in Gatlinburg.

A storm moved into East Tennessee several days after the original Nov. 23 fire. It increased the fire and drove flames into Gatlinburg and surrounding hills.

“Because of the intervening weather event, the State is unable to prove the criminal responsibility of two juveniles beyond a reasonable doubt for the devastation that occurred outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,” a statement by Dunn reads.

According to the DA, “it became impossible to prove which fire may have caused the death of an individual or damage to a particular structure,” his statement reads.

The state had no option but to dismiss the charges that had been filed in December, Dunn said.

Defense attorney Gregory P. Isaacs, who represents one of the boys, called the case Friday “an unfortunate rush to judgment.”

“I want to be very clear and I want to be very unequivocal that my client and the other juvenile, based on the proof and the evidence, did not cause any devastation in Gatlinburg period,” Isaacs said at an afternoon press conference.