HOUSTON -- At least six more deaths were blamed on Hurricane Ike, the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office said Tuesday, bringing the storm's death toll to 47.

Seventeen deaths have been in Texas.

The latest cases bring to the total deaths reported in Harris County to nine. Five were attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning caused by improper use of gasoline-powered portable generators. Two died in fires where evidence showed candles were in use because the power was out.

Among the latest reported deaths were men fatally injured while trimming trees damaged by the storm.

A 61-year-old man fell from a 20-foot ladder while cutting branches in Harris County. Another man, 59, was hit by a tree limb while he was cutting trees in his Montgomery County yard. The Harris County coroner handles cases for the adjacent suburban county to the north.

Carbon monoxide was the most common killer and the common cause was generators found inside the houses or garages.

Victims ranged in age from 4 to 54, including two men, age 20 and 32, found dead in the same south Houston house Monday where a generator had been running in the kitchen.

"Portable gas generators are dangerous if used improperly," medical examiner's office spokeswoman Beverly Begay said. "It's like parking in your garage and closing the garage door and leaving your truck or car running. It's still going to emit fumes and also be odorless fumes as well."

In the fire fatalities, a 58-year-old woman died at her home in Tomball where investigators found evidence of multiple candles around the house. And a 53-year-old in Houston died in a fire where several candles had been lit in her bedroom.