April 9, 2026

A raging fire believed to be arson wiped out a 1.2 million-square-foot tissue paper warehouse in California that serves the needs of roughly 50 million people, authorities said April 8.

The six-alarm blaze in Ontario, California, happened at a warehouse leased by personal care and hygiene giant Kimberly-Clark early in the morning. There were no injuries to the roughly 20 employees who were in the building at the time of the fire, according to Fox 11 Los Angeles.

But the blaze “risks West Coast supply shortages for more than 3% of sales” at Kimberly-Clark’s US business and could raise transportation costs, according to a note from Diana Gomes, a Bloomberg Intelligence senior industry analyst, according to the trade publication Insurance Journal.

 

A suspected arson fire has wiped out a 1.2 million-square-foot tissue warehouse in Ontario, California — a massive blow to a facility serving roughly 50 million people and stocked with paper goods for Kimberly-Clark brands like Cottonelle, Kleenex, Viva and Huggies. The six-alarm blaze, which broke out early April 8, caused no injuries among about 20 workers inside, but officials say the damage could trigger West Coast supply shortages and raise transportation costs. Authorities have charged 29-year-old Chamel Abdulkarim, an employee of logistics contractor NFI Industries, with multiple arson-related counts and are holding him without bail.

Leave a Reply