AAA with some tips to help navigate this busy holiday travel period.

Roads, airlines and cruise ships will be more crowded than normal this season and most people driving to their destinations.

They recommend drivers keep a well-stocked emergency kit in their vehicle which should include a flashlight, water, non-perishable food and a cell phone charger. The busiest days on the road this week will be Thursday and Saturday. The best time to travel will be before lunch or after 7 p.m.

All lane closure activity on interstates and state highways has been suspended by the Tennessee Department of Transportationto help with higher traffic volumes across the state over the holiday period.

These lane closures will run through 6:00 a.m. on January 2, 2024.

AAA expects an estimated 2.7 million Tennessean will travel between December 23 and January 1 with most of them driving.

A few long-term closures will remain in place for safety like the I-640 project in Knox County.

An investigation is underway following a house fire on Christmas morning.

Crews called to Pickett Avenue and contained the fire to a bedroom but the home suffered a moderate amount of smoke of water damage. Four people who were home at the time of the fire made it out safe.

The home did have working smoke detectors.

An investigation is underway following an apartment fire Christmas morning which leaves a cat dead.

Knoxville Fire department crews were called to an apartment building on Broadway and Fairmont Blvd. and were able to contain the fire to one apartment on the second floor which suffered moderate water and smoke damage.

All the residents made it out safe and multiple animals were rescued, however one cat did not survive.

An investigation is underway following a house fire in Powell.

Rural Metro was called to the 7700 block of Keswick Road in the Broadacres subdivision yesterday afternoon (Monday) . The home suffered heavy damage in the attic.

No injuries were reported and the residents are being assisted by the American Red Cross.

A rise in the number of respiratory illnesses in our state and now new data from the CDC shows a troubling jump in the number of patients with COVID, flu and RSV needing to be hospitalized.

Over the past several weeks, hospitalizations rose 200% for the flu; 51% for COVID-19 and 60% for RSV.

Doctors say what we all need to do is simple, pay attention to any symptoms you might have and stay home if you’re sick.

The CDC says vaccination rates are lagging right now and have issued an advisory that low vaccination rates with increasing cases could lead to more severe disease and strain on the health care system.