Powerful winds gusting up to 59 miles per hour Thursday in Roanoke downed power lines, trees, limbs and even a church's steeple.

The winds also spread a fire through about 3 acres of brush in Roanoke County south of Clearbrook.

The winds, kicked up after the passage of a cold front, are expected to subside this morning, and a high wind warning for many of the localities along the Interstate 81 corridor expires at noon today, according to the National Weather Service.

By 4:30 p.m., wind had knocked out power to about 4,200 customers in the Roanoke area, mostly near Catawba, said Appalachian Power spokesman Todd Burns.

Appalachian Power had restored electricity to all but 700 customers by 9:30 p.m., according to the utility's Web site.

The Virginia Department of Transportation was also busy clearing debris from roads.

VDOT cleared one tree that had partially blocked the Interstate 81 exit at Wildwood Road in Salem, said Chuck Lionberger, VDOT spokesman.

VDOT advised motorists to be on the lookout this morning for debris that had fallen in the road, Lionberger said.

Art Good, senior pastor of Valley View Wesleyan Church, in the 2300 block of Oakland Boulevard Northwest, said high winds were to blame for knocking over the church's steeple.

It was about 3 p.m. when Good heard the wind howling, and then a loud noise.

He went outside and noticed that the church's 40-foot steeple was bent at almost a 90-degree angle.

"We're thinking, man, if this things comes off, it's going to be like a rocket going across the street," Good said.

Firefighters used a ladder truck to reach the steeple and an ax to hack it free.

The fiberglass structure tumbled off the roof; smacked a railing, leaving a dent; and came to a rest in the grass.

"It hit the ground with a lot of force," Good said.

He plans to replace the steeple with a new one, but wasn't sure Thursday how much it would cost.

"This stuff isn't devastating," Good said. "It's just a building. The church is more than a building, it's the people inside."

Fire crews from Roanoke County, Boones Mill and Vinton were called Thursday night to the area of Franklin and Crowell Gap roads in Roanoke County for a brush fire, said Jennifer Conley-Sexton, spokeswoman for the Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department.

The fire was sparked by a fallen power line and quickly spread throughout a 3-acre area because of the wind, Conley-Sexton said.

"It was outrunning the firemen," said Mark Childress, a Crowell Gap Road resident. "They couldn't keep up with it."

The blaze was contained about 8:45 p.m., Conley-Sexton said.

Two structures, an adult care facility and a house, were considered at high risk, but were not damaged, Conley-Sexton said.