Police received a call at about 5:15 a.m. from the owner of a Shell gas station at Fourth and Bryant streets who said protesters locked chains around some of the station's gas hoses and left anti-oil leaflets, San Francisco police Lt. Troy Dangerfield said.
Dangerfield said police later learned two other Shell gas stations in the city had also reported similar actions, all with leaflets left by a group calling itself Rising Tide.
The group's website says Rising Tide is comprised of people and organizations that confront the root causes of climate change, and linked to another website, www.extractionaction.net, that called Wednesday a day of action to mark the one-year anniversary of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The fliers left behind at the gas stations said, "We act against oil that kills humanity and kills the planet. We urge movement against gasoline now before it is too late for us all."
Dangerfield said the owner of the gas station did not want to pursue charges against the vandals since no damage was done to the station.
