The sound of bagpipes and drums filled the town of Prescott, Ariz. Monday as firefighters prepared to honor 19 colleagues at a memorial service about one week after they were over-run by a wildfire northwest of Phoenix.
Read: Worst Firefighter Tragedies | How to Help: Donate to Firefighters' Families
The memorial service in Prescott is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Refresh this page for live coverage.
Organizers set up a large monitor outside Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott to accommodate what is expected to be an overflow crowd at Tuesday's service. About 30,000 people are expected to attend the service.
Nineteen hearses, each accompanied by an honor guard, transported the firefighters' bodies Sunday from the medical examiner's office in Phoenix to Prescott as people -- many from the community the firefighters died trying to protect -- lined streets and waved American flags.
The firefighters, members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots crew, were killed June 30 as they fought a 13-square mile wildfire near the community of Yarnell, Ariz. The wind-whipped fire marked the deadliest wildland fire since 25 firefighters were killed as they fought the 1933 Griffith Park fire.
"It's going to be a rough day," said Jade Morgan, a member of the San Bernardino County Fire Department in Prescott.
Morgan is one of several Southern California firefighters at the memorial. Members of the Los Angeles county and city fire departments boarded buses early Tuesday to join colleagues from throughout the United States and Canada at the service. During a bagpipe and drums procession Monday at the town center, some firefighters wore shirts with the victims' names listed on the back and the words, "We will never forget."
"More than half of our guys from LA City are former hotshots, wildland firefighters -- so it hit close to home for all of us," said Greg Holly, of the Los Angles Fire Department. "The other guys that don't come from a wildland background still feel that bond."
Residents of Prescott Valley and other visitors have left flowers, notes and other items along a fence near the Prescott Fire Department since the deadly June 30 fire fight. Firefighters brough s
hirts from fire departments represented at the memorial to add to the memorial.
Vice President Joe Biden and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer are expected to speak at the service.
The victims were identified as Anthony Rose, 23; Eric Marsh, 43; Robert Caldwell, 23; Clayton Whitted , 28; Scott Norris, 28; Dustin Deford, 24; Sean Misner, 26; Garret Zuppiger, 27; Travis Carter, 31; Grant McKee, 21; Travis Turbyfill, 27; Jesse Steed, 36; Wade Parker, 22; Joe Thurston, 32; William Warneke, 25; and John Percin, 24; Kevin Woyjeck, 21; Chris MacKenzie, 30; and Andrew Ashcraft, 29.
Most of the victims were in their 20s.
"Aside from 9/11 this is the largest firefighter tragedy in the history of the fire service," said Capt. Tom Richards, of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. "To honor these firefighters is something the guys and ladies needed to do."
A 20th member of the Hot Shots crew was serving as a lookout when the lightning-sparked fire overtook his colleagues, several with Southern California connections.
Woyjeck is the son of Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Joe Woyjeck. He started out as a Fire Explorer, a training mentorship program, and worked as an emergency medical technician. He called his father before heading out with his crewmembers to battle the Yarnell Hills fire. 
On Monday, Joe Woyjeck and his wife embraced fellow firefighters, including members of the Prescott Fire Department. The firefighters wore purple ribbons in memory of the Woyjecks' son and his 18 colleagues.
"This is going to be a brutal day, but it's something that's necessary," said Woyjeck, wearing his son's Angels baseball hat.
MacKenzie graduated Hemet High School in 2001 and joined the U.S. Forest Service.
Warneke, also a Hemet High School grad, is survived by his wife, his high school sweetheart who is expecting their first child in December, his grandparents said.
McKee grew up in Costa Mesa. Misner, from Santa Barbara County, also is survived by his wife, who is pregnant.
More Southern California Stories:
- Store Owner Shot, Killed In Front of Shop: Police
- Dodgers Win Opener In AZ, Greinke Dominates
- SoCal Church Mourns Asiana Crash Victims
- Wanted San Diego Woman Captured in Mexico
- Chariot Fire Grows to 4,700 Acres
- NYPD Releasing Gases in Subway for Chemical Weapon Study
- Teenaged Plane Crash Survivors Get Comfort from China
Photo Credit: AP