#First death linked to Hurricane Delta is 86-year-old Louisiana man

The death of an 86-year-old man in Louisiana on Sunday was the first fatality linked to the since-downgraded Hurricane Delta, officials said.

The elderly victim died in a fire that ignited from the refueling of a generator, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said.

“If you are using a generator, please be safe,” Edwards warned on Twitter.

Delta made landfall as a Category 2 storm on Friday near the southwestern Louisiana town of Creole, becoming the second hurricane in the past six weeks to slam the area.

By Sunday, the storm was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone. Its remnants were well inland, heading from the southern Appalachians up the east coast.

Delta knocked out power to more than 600,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana, Edwards said in a press briefing. But by Sunday, power was restored to about half those customers.

In late August, Hurricane Laura devastated parts of Louisiana, making landfall as a Category 4 storm.

With Post wires