PHOTO SUBMITTED BY KIM DENEAULT

A tractor-trailer carrying cardboard caught fire on Tuesday, Feb. 12, at
about 3 p.m., on Interstate 40 near exit 449. No one was hurt, but the
Alpha and Omega Transportation Company's truck was a total loss. The
fire forced the temporary closure of the eastbound lanes on I-40. A Cocke
County Fire Department spokesman said the fire was a result of a
mechanical malfunction. The spokesman valued the truck and its contents
at between $100,000 and $200,000.