CLAYTON, N.C. (WNCN) – The westbound U.S. Route 70 Bypass was shut down for a period on Tuesday morning after a tractor-trailer caught fire on the road, according to Town of Clayton officials.

Grocery truck operators told authorities that other truckers and cars started flashing their lights at them just before 4 a.m. while traveling on the highway near Ranch Road, according to Clayton spokesperson Stacy Beard. Thinking that they must have left the back door of the trailer open, the driver pulled off – that’s when they saw flames coming up from under the trailer.

The truck operators were able to disconnect the trailer from the cab before the fire spread, Beard said. Clayton Fire Department crews arrived at the scene and extinguished the flames.

No one was injured in the fire.

The fire appears to have started from a mechanical issue centered around the trailer axle or breaks, according to Beard.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol is investigating.

As of 7:15 a.m., the right shoulder was all that remained closed on the westbound side of U.S. 70, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.