NOVATO, Calif. (July 30, 2026) – At 9:22 a.m., Novato Fire Protection District was dispatched to reports of a vehicle collision into a power pole, downed power lines, and a vegetation fire on northbound U.S. 101 near the State Route 37 interchange.

Novato Fire units arrived at 9:29 a.m. and found a vehicle with major damage after it struck a power pole, causing power lines to fall across both the northbound and southbound lanes of U.S. 101, as well as the Highway 37 on- and off-ramps. The downed power lines ignited three small vegetation spot fires totaling approximately one-quarter acre.

Firefighters extinguished the vehicle fire and contained the vegetation fires while coordinating with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to safely manage the electrical hazards. The fires were fully contained at 10:48 a.m.

One occupant sustained major injuries and was transported to a local hospital.

Due to the downed power lines, the CHP closed both directions of U.S. 101, the eastbound State Route 37 off-ramp, and Rowland Boulevard at approximately 9:35 a.m. to allow emergency crews to safely access the scene. At 10:48 a.m., both directions of U.S. 101 had partially reopened, and portions of Highway 37 remained closed. At approximately 12:03pm all lanes were opened in all directions.

Motorists are asked to proceed with caution as PG&E continues their repair work in the area this evening.

PG&E crews responded at approximately 9:40 a.m. to assess the damaged power infrastructure and address electrical hazards. Approximately 6,000 customers were impacted by the outage.

The Marin County Office of Emergency Management issued an AlertMarin notification at approximately 10:04 a.m. to provide notification of significant traffic impacts as a result of the accident.

Agencies responding to the incident included the Novato Fire District, Marin County Fire Department, California Highway Patrol, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and the Marin County Office of Emergency Management.

The cause of the collision is under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.