California Fire Wipes Out Toilet Paper Warehouse That Served 50M People

USA Today (04/09/26) Ramirez, Marc

On April 8, a six-alarm fire believed to be arson destroyed a 1.2 million-square-foot tissue paper warehouse in Ontario, Calif., that serves the needs of approximately 50 million people. The blaze happened at a warehouse leased by Kimberly-Clark. Although the company has activated a response team to minimize consumer impact, analyst Diana Gomes says the incident "risks West Coast supply shortages for more than 3 percent of sales" at Kimberly-Clark’s U.S. business. Paper products were stored at the facility for such brands as Kleenex tissues, Huggies diapers, Cottonelle toilet paper, and Viva paper towels. Chamel Abdulkarim, a 29-year-old employee of NFI Industries, was charged with multiple arson-related charges and is being held without bail. NFI is a third-party logistics provider for Kimberly-Clark. "Kimberly-Clark’s supply chain network is designed for continuity during disruptions and mitigating actions are already in motion," a company statement read. Remarkably, there were no injuries to the 20 workers who were in the building at the time of the fire.

Read more on USA Today.