The breakneck run-up in gas prices slowed Friday, with prices actually falling at some stations and fears about supply easing.

Local stations that ran out of gas Thursday afternoon were pumping again Friday morning. At Shell and Enmark gas stations on U.S. 278 in greater Bluffton, prices for regular unleaded gas fell from $3.55 to $3.35 and from $3.21 to $3.01, respectively.

Tourism officials said advance reservations at area hotels remained at a record level, with only nominal cancellations. Even the perennial Labor Day weekend fear -- rain -- was not in the picture. The National Weather Service forecast calls for mostly clear skies through Monday, hot and humid, with the chance of storms.

The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce said visitors planning weekend trips to the area continued to call Friday to check on gas availability, but they were less concerned with cost, said Charlie Clark, the chamber's director of communications. Chamber staff surveyed area stations for availability in the morning and afternoon Thursday and Friday, posting a list of area gas stations and fuel availability on its Web site.

More than 1,300 people had viewed the list by Friday afternoon, Clark said.

A chamber survey of the island's four major oceanfront hotels found weekend occupancy at 91 percent, she said, the highest Labor Day on record since the chamber began tracking occupancy rates in 1999. The four hotels have a combined 1,560 rooms.

"Some properties are reporting sellouts," Clark said.

An Island Packet check of two vacation rental companies on Hilton Head found business unaffected by the storm. About two-thirds of the island's 6,000 beds

are in vacation villas. Property managers say occupancy drops off by up to 40 percent after school starts up again.

Hurricane Katrina damage didn't create any spike in demand from tourists not able to vacation along the Gulf Coast, said Bob Hawkins, co-owner of The Vacation Co. And worries about gasoline didn't prompt a rash of cancellations.

"There's no significant change," Hawkins said.

For Cincinnati residents Ronnie and Chuck Barber, both 66 years old, Labor Day weekend coincides with their wedding anniversary -- this year marks their 35th. As they walked next to Shelter Cove Marina on Friday, Chuck Barber said they considered staying home as fuel concerns grew. But the fact that they could take a vacation was reason enough.

"That storm left thousands of folks homeless," he said, "while we get to go on vacation. You never know what can happen."

That news will come as music to the ears of the area hospitality industry, after a major hurricane disrupted tourism over Labor Day weekend last year.

The threat of Hurricane Frances was blamed for occupancy at area hotels dropping from an expected 86 percent to 69 percent, according to chamber data. Frances made landfall near West Palm Beach, Fla.

The recent scramble for gas came after two pipelines that supply South Carolina with fuel were shut down when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast early Monday morning. The state receives about 3 million barrels of oil a day through the pipelines.

Colonial Pipeline Co. and Plantation Pipe Line Co., the companies that operate the equipment, said the system is working at about 30 percent capacity, which should increase to about 50 percent over the weekend.

The week started with most

gas stations charging around

$2.50 for a gallon of regular unleaded. After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast early Monday morning, prices skyrocketed to as high as $3.60. By Friday evening, prices at many area stations had dropped to around $3.28.

Concerns for supply prompted state officials to call for calm and ask citizens to purchase only the fuel they need and resist the urge to hoard gasoline.

Officials said it could be another two weeks before fuel supplies from the Gulf of Mexico return to normal. Supply concerns prompted the governors of Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania to ask residents to curb discretionary driving and stay home with friends and family this weekend.

While stopping short of telling people not to travel over the Labor Day weekend, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford asked residents to conserve as much fuel as possible until normal supply resumes.