A solo vehicle crash into a power pole along Highway 101 in Novato snarled traffic and cut power to thousands of people Thursday morning. At about 9:20 a.m., an elderly woman was driving north in a white Jeep on Highway 101 when she hit a power pole near the Highway 37 interchange, according to C alifornia Highway Patrol spokesperson Officer Arthur Tellez. The woman suffered only minor injuries, but power lines came down across both sides of the highway and sparked small brush fires on the shoulders of both the northbound and southbound lanes, Tellez said. Traffic backed up for miles as PGE crews worked to cut power to the lines so fire crews could get in and douse the flames. The collision and its aftermath left about 6,000 PGE customers without power, according to utility spokesperson Megan McFarland. As of about 10:15 a.m., the two left southbound lanes were opened, and all lanes were cleared by about 10:40 a.m. but there was no estimate for when power would be restored. ...read more read less