BusinessReport.com

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- For a few hours Sunday, this city's storm-weary residents took a break from cleaning up Hurricane Gustav's mess to enjoy the Saints' season-opener. Even with Hurricane Ike looming, many fans vowed not to let the threat of another major storm ruin their fun.

David Myers, 39, and Keith Collins, 38, staked out their usual pre-game tailgating spot in a parking lot near the Superdome. Fajitas were on the menu in honor of Hurricane Ike, which is forecast to enter the Gulf of Mexico later this week.

"It's a 'Go to Mexico, Ike' party," said Collins, whose suburban New Orleans home was damaged by Gustav. "Adios, Ike."

Myers, a physician who rode out the storm with relatives in Baton Rouge before returning home to New Orleans on Tuesday, said it would take a Category 4 or 5 storm to chase him away again. He expects many other residents who ran from Gustav to balk at evacuating for Ike.

"We think the stadium is going to be pretty rowdy today because everybody has been cooped up for so long," he said.

Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency for Ike and urged residents to get ready to head north again. He said so-called "hurricane fatigue" should not prevent people from evacuating their homes for the second time in 10 days.

"We are likely going to have to become accustomed to evacuating more frequently than when we were younger," he said.

Meanwhile, an elderly woman from Jefferson Parish who died of natural causes in Mississippi while evacuating last week is the 24th person from Louisiana whose death has been blamed on Hurricane Gustav.

Louisiana Chief Medical Officer Louis Cataldie confirmed the 88-year-old woman's death on Sunday. Cataldie says the woman was evacuating with her family when she died, before Gustav made landfall on the Gulf Coast.

Many of the 24 storm deaths were of elderly residents who died while evacuating. Cataldie says fallen trees and fires in the hurricane's aftermath also accounted for several deaths.

Cataldie says Gustav's death toll in Louisiana could rise as he contacts more parish coroners.

Christopher Gargiule, 37, said evacuating for Gustav cost him and his wife, Joanne, more than $1,500, including $800 to repair their truck when it broke down on their way to Texarkana, Texas. Gargiule, a bartender like his wife, said they can't afford to leave again even if Ike forces another mandatory evacuation of the city.

"We're going to have to hunker down and cross our fingers," said Gargiule, whose Bywater home is 50 yards from a levee that had water splash over it during Gustav. "I don't even have the money to pay my mortgage this month."

Keith L'Hoste, an electrician, used two of his company's pickup trucks to host a Saints tailgate party before the game. L'Hoste rode out Gustav at his St. Charles Parish home, which now needs a new roof. He vowed to stay if Ike threatens because his company, Cajun Comfort Inc., has a government contract to repair electrical systems at several post offices in the region.

"If I leave and can't get back, I lose my contract, and that's worth a lot of money to me," he said.

Jindal, who asked the White House for a federal emergency declaration, said people should replenish their food, water and other supplies, and keep an eye on Ike's movement.

Jindal said about a third of Louisiana's gas stations are unable to pump fuel because they have no electricity because of lingering Gustav outages, but he asked coastal residents to find gas if they can.

"Now would be a good time, if fuel is readily available, to go ahead and fuel up your vehicles," Jindal said.

Jindal said the state continues to supply parishes with generators, to be passed on to gas stations -- particularly along interstate highways -- that still don't have electricity.

Statewide, 19% of utility customers still lacked electricity because of Gustav, according to a state regulators' tally on Sunday. The power outages were concentrated in the Baton Rouge area, where about half of households and businesses remained without power.

The state Capitol regained power for the first time since Gustav on Saturday, and Jindal said all government employees should return to work on Monday.

Nearly all New Orleans and Jefferson Parish residents evacuated by the state for Gustav will have returned home by Sunday, Jindal said. Buses would be ready to evacuate them again if Ike heads toward southeast Louisiana, he added.