Power lines repaired after Highway 101 crash in Novato caused outages, brush fires and delays
NOVATO, Calif. (KGO) -- Crews have worked to replace power lines that stretch across Highway 101 in Novato after a crash Thursday morning brought down utility equipment, sparked small brush fires and caused power outages in the area.
As of Friday morning, all power has been restored according to the PG&E outage map after initially over 6,000 customers were without power.
The incident stemmed from a crash involving an elderly woman driving a white Jeep. The California Highway Patrol said the woman suffered minor injuries.
According to CHP, the driver was traveling northbound on Highway 101 shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday when she struck a power pole near the State Route 37 interchange.
Authorities said the downed lines sparked small brush fires that crews were able to quickly extinguish, but at that point, the damage was done.
The crash also created major traffic delays in the area as drivers were left stranded for hours.
"Ran out of gas trying to get to the gas station, and it's out of power. So I had to walk across the overpass and fill up at Chevron," Rohnert Park resident Cesar Morales said.
The outages affected residents, including Kelly Cruz, who said she first realized something was wrong while she was at work.
"I was working and all of a sudden the power went out. Within ten minutes I started hearing sirens and started smelling smoke," Cruz said.
Cruz lives in a Novato neighborhood near where the power lines came crashing down. At least one generator could be heard running Thursday night as residents dealt with the outage.
