Angel (Photo courtesy of Houston Evans)
For those of us who lived through the deadly fires of October 2017 in Sonoma County, a humble cow ended up being a reminder of the resilience of our community. Angel, a Texas longhorn, survived the firestorm that swept over her field that night. Tragically, Valerie Evans, the women who owned Angel and the property off of Highway 101 in northern Santa Rosa, died that night. As we began our long recovery after the fires, many found comfort seeing Angel each day as they passed by on their commute. We have learned that Angel died yesterday. A Facebook page dedicated to Angel posted the news last night, saying, “While we are heartbroken, and we know you are too, we chose to honor Angel by remembering the love, pride, and rebuilding of this great community that Angel and each of you inspired. Angel represented everything that was wonderful in our community. She represented hope, grit, love, sacrifice, beauty, miracles (big & small), and perseverance.”