NEW ORLEANS - Cars, campers and sports utility vehicles jammed the roads back to the Louisiana coastline Wednesday, as the 2 million evacuees chased away by the threat of Hurricane Gustav tried to make their way home.

Though New Orleans wouldn't officially open its doors until midnight, outlying communities were already welcoming residents back. Mayor Ray Nagin said no one would be turned away from the city if they tried to come in early, but warned that New Orleans was still in a "very, very vulnerable state."

"I don't want people heading in yet," Nagin said. "But if they jumped the gun, we will let them through."

Those trying to make their way home were visibly angry it took so long for officials to let them return after Gustav's Monday strike. George Johnson, 41, was glad to heed the call to leave — but said he would stay put next time because returning was such a hassle.

"People need to get home, need to get their houses straight and get back to work," said Johnson, 41, who used back roads to get into the city Tuesday night. "They want to keep you out of your own property. That's just not right."

After spending days in motels, with family, or in hot, overcrowded shelters, evacuees came home to find another set of problems. This storm was no Katrina, but there were still nearly 800,000 homes in Louisiana without power, including about 77,000 in the city of New Orleans.

Officials said the main transmission lines into southern Louisiana were crippled and they had no timetable for when much of the power might be restored. Hospitals were running on generators, and some had to move patients who they feared would suffer without air conditioning.

Grocery store manager Ryan Carderara, 23, headed back into a reopened St. Bernard Parish after ducking the storm at a friend's house. He didn't expect to have electricity, but intended to reopen his store on Thursday.