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Security was heightened throughout the state, part of the nationwide increase in security efforts.

Gerry Fiola, a Port of Seattle patrol officer, started manning a security checkpoint on the road leading to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport before dawn. He said people were responding cooperatively -- in some cases graciously.

Some thanked him, others shook his hand and said, "God bless you."

"I haven't had one disgruntled person today," Fiola said. "I think people realize we're back at war again."

Sea-Tac and Spokane International Airport began tighter inspections of vehicles Wednesday afternoon. At Sea-Tac, the focus was on vehicles approaching the ticketing and baggage-claim areas, with follow-up inspections when port police considered a vehicle suspicious. Spokane officials planned random "security inspections," with drivers who refuse searches barred from the area.

Most lines at Sea-Tac weren't longer than usual early Thursday , unless you were looking for a latte.

"The line is longer to get coffee than to get into the airport. That's so Seattle," said Ken Bachman, a Microsoft program manager who said he wasn't a bit nervous about flying to Nevada.

As more travelers streamed in, some reported it was taking more than two hours to get from the check-in counter to their gates.

At the state's Emergency Operations Center, officials were comparing notes on arrangements made to protect "critical facilities" -- roads, bridges, pipelines, hydroelectric dams, Hanford nuclear reservation, communications, hospitals -- anything that could pose a threat to life if not functioning normally, spokesman Rob Harper said.