PRESCOTT, Ariz. – They remembered the Fourth, but also the 19.

At Bistro St. Michael on Whiskey Row in this old West town, 19 candles burned beneath red, white and blue bunting, one for each firefighter killed last weekend battling a wildfire not far from the place they called home.

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Fire crew members from Island Park, Idaho, pay their respects Thursday at a memorial in Prescott, Ariz., to the 19 firefighters killed Sunday. The Associated Press

In a quiet neighborhood near the high school, which at least five of them attended, 19 miniature U.S. flags were planted in front yards, each pole tied with the purple ribbon that commemorates fallen firefighters.

At the makeshift memorial on the fence that wrapped around the elite Hotshots firefighting team’s headquarters, people left 19 potted plants, 19 pinwheels, 19 handwritten cards, 19 religious candles.

On a day meant to ponder the nation’s birth, and those who built and defended it over 237 years, Prescott’s residents had 19 of their neighbors, their friends, their relatives to remember.

“I just wanted to thank them and let them know that they’re heroes and that they’re missed,” said Susan Reynolds, who hung a piece of fabric with an expression of thanks on a string of panels that hung like a prayer flag on the fence.

Away from the celebrations, public memorials and the fireworks planned for later Thursday, some of the fallen firefighters’ families were quietly trying to come to terms with their own personal loss. Occasionally, relatives would emerge to speak about the fallen.

“There’s no celebration today,” said Laurie McKee, whose 21-year-old nephew, Grant McKee, died in the fire. “We’re doing OK, but it’s still up and down.”

McKee’s father and aunt picked up items recovered from his truck Wednesday night, and were comforted when the fire chief told them that Grant McKee had been part of “the Navy SEALs of firefighting,” his aunt said.

Initial autopsy results released Thursday showed the firefighters died from burns, carbon monoxide poisoning or oxygen deprivation, or a combination of the factors. Their bodies, which are in Phoenix for the autopsies, were expected to be taken 75 miles to Prescott on Sunday. Each firefighter will be in a hearse, accompanied by motorcycle escorts, honor guard members and American flags.

A memorial service planned for Tuesday is expected to draw thousands of mourners, including firefighters’ families.

The nation’s biggest loss of firefighters since 9/11, the tragedy raised questions of whether the usual precautions would have made any difference in the face of triple-digit temperatures, erratic winds and dry conditions that caused the fire to explode. A team of forest managers and safety experts is investigating what went wrong and planS to release initial findings by the weekend.

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