Four Die in Explosion, Fire

Four people died in an explosion and fire overnight in this coastal town 160 miles north of San Francisco. Authorities said today that they were investigating possible arson and homicide and that a link with a drug operation is suspected.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Rich Wiseman said the victims were a man and a woman, both apparently in their 30s, a young male in his teens or early 20s, and a female child. He said the Mendocino County Narcotics Task Force was called in because of speculation that the explosion heard by neighbors, before flames erupted, may have been the result of a drug-manufacturing laboratory.