PRESCOTT, Ariz. — Saturday marks five years since 19 wildland firefighters died in Arizona, overrun by flames in a brush-choked canyon.

The city of Prescott, north of Phoenix, is honoring them with a service that includes a moment of silence at the time of their deaths and the ringing of a bell 19 times.

The loss of nearly the entire Granite Mountain Hotshot crew reverberated across the country, becoming the deadliest day for firefighters since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Granite Mountain Hotshots were the only such elite firefighting crew tied to a municipal fire department.

Over the years, signs of the men have sprung up around the communities they protected.

A life-size bronze statue of a wildland firefighter stands at the trailhead of a state park created for the firefighters. A plaque near an alligator juniper tells the story of how the crew saved the giant tree.

A new learning and tribute center in Prescott features thousands of items that people left outside the crew’s fire station after they died, including T-shirts from other U.S. fire departments. Next year, a sculpture of a wildland firefighter with the backdrop of Granite Mountain will be added to the city’s courthouse plaza.

“While there is no man-made memorial that could fully capture the true essence and spirit of our Granite Mountain Hotshots, I am confident that this memorial will do justice to their legacy and bring healing and hope to the families and our community,” Prescott Mayor Greg Mengarelli told The Daily Courier newspaper.

Some of the men’s families started organizations to honor their loved ones.

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