PRINCE.EDWARD.ISLAND (CBC) - Islanders responded to an announced increase in the price of gas by pumping some service stations dry on Wednesday evening.

A news release from the Island Regulatory and Appeals Agency went out shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday, and word spread quickly. Gas went up six cents a litre overnight, and many Islanders rushed out to fill up on cheaper gas.

"It was just chaotic," said Michael Cahill, the assistant manager of the Shell station in Summerside.

"We were taking bets when we checked our fuel, what we had left in the tank. The manager and myself were taking bets on what time we were going to run out, and she won. She said 7, I said 7:15, and we ran out of fuel at 6:30. It was like a zoo."

Cahill said the station received a delivery at 11:30 last night, but was closed by then. Several other gas stations in the Summerside area also ran out of gas.

The announced price increases caused a rush of orders from service stations, he said, and smaller stations are at the bottom of the delivery list.

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