Noticed this at the time actually. The restriction went up something like 36 hours before any official statement came out, which is the bit that gets me. They can't claim it was a response to the balloon story because the timing doesn't add up.
Been following these Nevada reports for a while now and the FAA thing is a pattern honestly. Same happened near a site in Utah a few years back, quiet restriction, no explanation, then a week later some mundane cover story drops and everyone moves on.
What I want to know is who flags these restrictions in real time. There must be people watching the airspace data closely enough to catch them before teh story breaks. Anyone here got tools for that or know of a good tracker?