A tractor-trailer driver and his wife, who are from Augusta, escaped unharmed when their truck caught fire Tuesday morning on Highway 196 in Long County’s Sand Hill community, near the Time Saver convenience store. The couple, hauling a load of compressed cardboard, had been traveling east around 11:30 a.m. when a tire blew and caught fire.  The driver pulled off the highway into a dirt parking lot, where the blaze spread to the whole trailer. The cab sustained minor damage, and no one was injured. The Long County Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene minutes later and had the fire completely extinguished in about two hours. Traffic on 196 backed up as crews cleaned the mess, but the highway reopened around 1:30 p.m.