Heavy overnight rains apparently caused underground gasoline storage tanks at a northwest Lawrence service station to surface this morning.

Douglas County Fire & Medical and Lawrence Police Department personnel were out late this morning at the Miller Mart, at Sixth Street and Frontier Road, trying to build an earthen dam to prevent gasoline from spilling into stormwater sewers.

Officials at the scene said overnight rains apparently surged in around the tanks, causing them to push up through the concrete pavement at the gasoline station. Officials said they began pushing up from the ground around 4 a.m. and eventually pushed up through the surface around 8 a.m.

The Lawrence area had about 2.37 inches of rain by 8 a.m. recorded at the Lawrence Municipal Airport.