HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) - As New York and New Jersey continue to recover from Superstorm Sandy, emergency crews have had their hands full responding to fires started by generators and stockpiled gasoline.

Fire destroyed a home in Hempstead, N.Y., this morning. Officials suspect a generator placed against the building's rear wall had something to do with it.

More than a quarter million power customers remained without power in the region as of this morning. The figures do not include tens of thousands of homes too damaged to juice up, but all homes on hard-hit Staten Island that can accept electricity have regained power.

Progress on New York's Long Island, has been slower, with nearly 146,000 homes and businesses still dark.

In New Jersey, more than 100,000 customers are without power, down from 2.7 million at the height of the storm. Most service is expected to be restored by tonight.

Meanwhile, the number of storm-related deaths grows. The New York medical examiner is conducting an autopsy on the body of a man found yesterday in a flooded home on Staten Island. More than 100 deaths are blamed on the storm.

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