Kimberly Clark Warehouse Destroyed by Fire in Ontario, California; Employee Arrested

By Janet Freund, Redd Brown, and Andrea Chang
Bloomberg Industries
April 7, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

ONTARIO , California — A Kimberly-Clark Corp. employee has been arrested on arson charges after a massive fire broke out Tuesday morning at a California distribution center that serves around 50 million people. The 1.2 million-square-foot facility — located in Ontario, about 35 miles outside of Los Angeles — houses facial tissue and toilet paper, according to a local Fox report. Ontario Deputy Fire Chief Mike Wedell said the building’s roof completely collapsed and all products inside were destroyed. …The blaze reached a six-alarm response, involving around 175 firefighters. The fire was contained to the building of origin. …The department also said it had identified a suspect: Chamel Abdulkarim, an employee of NFI Industries, a third-party logistics provider for Kimberly-Clark products. …Kimberly-Clark said that there were no reported injuries. The company’s shares fell 4.1% on Tuesday. Analysts warned that the fire could lead to supply problems in the region.

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