There was a gasoline war brewing in Columbia County Thursday night between two stations on South Belair Road.

Throngs of customers eager to save money found themselves in lines that snaked from the road into the Sprint and Circle K convenience stores. Both shops featured marquees advertising regular gas prices at $1.71 a gallon as of 10 p.m. Earlier in the night, the prices were at $1.79, a Sprint employee said.

The gasoline war coincided with Thursday's opening of the Sprint store. Henry Colley, vice president of retail operations, said he'd keep the low prices as long as his competitor did.

A woman who identified herself as the Circle K manager vowed she would do the same.

Lily Gibson, of Grovetown, discovered the cheap fuel while taking her son to class. "It had to be last summer since I paid these kind of prices," she said.

Glen Jackson of Evans said he planned to fill up his Dodge pickup, then go home and get his Ford Focus to refuel. "It'd be nice if it stayed this way," he said.

Meanwhile, the Pilot Travel Center on Belair Road decided not to enter the fray.

"We feel our loyal customers will stay with us," a manager said.

Brian Blake, a Fort Gordon civilian employee, said the hassle and wait in line wasn't worth "saving six dollars. I figured it out, I've got a 15-gallon tank and I did the math."

Reach Timothy Cox at (706) 823-3217 or tim.cox@augustachronicle.com.