Lyon County Search and Rescue teams man the turnoff of Highway 50 east to Virginia City. The road was closed due to the Andrew fire.
The Andrew fire burning south of Reno and near the Virginia Highlands on Wednesday evening hadn't caused delays to flights at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, a spokesman said.
"It's had no effect on our operations whatsoever," said Brian Kulpin of the airport.
"We've had no delays, no impact at this point. The biggest delay for travelers is going to be the road network."
Sections of Highway 395 as well as Geiger Grade were closed for hours as wind continued to spread the blaze. Highway 395 reopened about 5:45 p.m., but Geiger Grade remained closed. Witnesses call the area "a traffic nightmare."
Aircraft leaving Reno-Tahoe International Airport are climbing above the smoke and fire, Kulpin said.
"At that point they are at a pretty high altitude and certainly they have very high-tech equipment to deal with cloudy weather, so smoke is really just another condition for them to deal with."
The best way for travelers to check the status of their flights is to call their airline, Kulpin said.
