Damaging thunderstorms snapped power poles and downed limbs in several areas of eastern North Carolina Wednesday afternoon and caused a fire at a Greenville church and a power outage for about 1,500 customers.
Officials with the Greenville Police Department said the roof of Parker's Free Will Baptist Church caught on fire from a downed power line just before 5 p.m.
Highway 264 was closed in both directions from Hastings Ford through Old Pactolus Road as crews worked to clear the downed lines and put out the fire.
Officials say damage to the church was minimal.