By Joseph Serna
Los Angeles Times
ONTARIO, Calif. — A massive fire burning inside a Kimberly-Clark paper products facility in Ontario collapsed a warehouse roof and forced firefighters to retreat early Tuesday as flames consumed the 1.2-million square foot structure.
About 20 workers were inside the building at South Hellman Avenue and Merrill Avenue when the fire was reported about 12:30 a.m., Ontario Fire Department Deputy Chief Mike Wedell told KTTV.
| WATCH: Unified command strategies for large-scale emergency events
The flames grew “exponentially” and quickly overwhelmed firefighters who rushed in to extinguish the blaze, forcing them to retreat, Wedell said.
“Unfortunately, the fire grew extremely quickly to where our crews needed to make what we call an ‘operational retreat’ to evacuate from the building,” he told KTLA.
The fire was still burning as of 6:30 a.m. The glow of the fire and pillars of smoke could be seen for miles. Fire trucks surrounded the building pumping 1,000 gallons of water a minute.
“We would expect to be here on scene for the rest of the day for sure,” Wedell told KTTV. “We have this building completely surrounded.”
Wedell told reporters at the scene the fire was a suspected arson and one person was taken into custody. No other details were immediately available.
Learn now to prepare firefighters at every level to step up and lead when it counts
©2026 Los Angeles Times.
Visit latimes.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Firefighters were driven from the burning Dryden home by rapidly deteriorating conditions as strong winds fueled the blaze that killed a mother, her young daughter and a relative.
Broward Sheriff’s Office Firefighter/Paramedic Stephen Lepselter worked in multiple specialized divisions
A new law lets fire departments use state grant funding to cover up to half the cost of soybean-based fire suppression products, giving another PFAS-free option while supporting safer operations and agriculture
Paterson firefighters and nine mutual aid departments battled a massive fire at an abandoned former chemical plant, facing hydrant failures, low water pressure, a ruptured gas line and access problems
Bipartisan legislation would fund National Fallen Firefighters Foundation programs supporting Fire Hero Families through proceeds from commemorative coin sales
