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Lesson Info

Post Type
Article
Level
Level 3 / B1
Published
Title
California Paper Warehouse Fire
Webpage
https://eslnewsstories.com/articles/2026-04-25-california-paper-warehouse-fire/

In this lesson:

  • Warm-up Prediction task and general discussion questions.
  • Vocab List Useful words and meanings.
  • Reading Read the main text.
  • Listen and Fill Gaps Listen for missing words.
  • Main Idea Choose the overall message of the text.
  • True or False Check understanding.
  • Put Events in Order Arrange events from the story into the order they happened.
  • Multiple Choice Check understanding.
  • Words That Go Together Connect words and collocated phrases from the lesson.
  • Discussion Builder Think about how ideas relate to each other to choose connecting expressions.
  • Sentence Unscramble Reorder mixed phrases into correct sentences.
  • Discussion Questions Open speaking questions for discussion (or writing practice).
  • Answers Answer key for the printed tasks.

Think Ahead: Which detail do you think appears in this story?

a) Firefighters save most of the paper products inside the building.

b) Police say a worker sent co-workers a message after the fire.

c) The company moves the warehouse to a new city after one day.

Illustration of a large warehouse fire at night, with bright flames, heavy smoke, and fire trucks nearby.
A warehouse on fire.

Ask: (1) Have you ever seen a big fire on TV or in real life? (2) What kinds of paper products do people use every day?

VOCAB LIST

destroy (v.) — To damage something so badly that it cannot be used anymore.
arson (n.) — The crime of starting a fire on purpose.
warehouse (n.) — A big building where things are kept.
official (n.) — A person with power in a government or company.
arrest (v.) — To take someone away because they might have done something wrong.
evidence (n.) — Facts or objects that help show what really happened.
employee (n.) — A person who works for a company.
executive (n.) — A high-level manager in a company.
charge (n.) — An official statement that someone might have done something wrong.
violence (n.) — Using force to hurt people or damage things.

Reading

On Tuesday, a huge fire destroyed a paper warehouse in Ontario, California. Police say the fire started around 12:30 a.m. and became very large very quickly. About 175 firefighters came to the scene to help, but the building and many paper products were lost.

Police later arrested Chamel Abdulkarim, a 29-year-old employee at the warehouse. He now faces serious charges, including arson. Officials say the damage may be more than $600 million. They believe about $500 million in paper goods were destroyed, and the warehouse itself was worth about $150 million. The warehouse belonged to Kimberly-Clark, which makes paper products for homes and businesses. The site is about an hour from Los Angeles.

Police said Abdulkarim sent a message to co-workers after the fire and compared himself to Luigi Mangione. Mangione was charged with killing a health insurance executive in December 2024. That case was linked to anger about health care costs in the US. Police also said a video on social media appears to show Abdulkarim starting fires inside the warehouse.

In the video, the person says he does not make enough money to live. Officials called the fire an attack on American businesses. At a press conference, they said they would act strongly against people who use violence against companies. Police are still checking the evidence carefully and studying the video for more information.

California Paper Warehouse Fire

Level 3 Source: theguardian.com

Warm-up → Read & Listen → Check Understanding → Language → Use It

Illustration of a large warehouse fire at night, with bright flames, heavy smoke, and fire trucks nearby.
A warehouse on fire.

On Tuesday, a huge fire destroyed a paper warehouse in Ontario, California. Police say the fire started around 12:30 a.m. and became very large very quickly. About 175 firefighters came to the scene to help, but the building and many paper products were lost.

Police later arrested Chamel Abdulkarim, a 29-year-old employee at the warehouse. He now faces serious charges, including arson. Officials say the damage may be more than $600 million. They believe about $500 million in paper goods were destroyed, and the warehouse itself was worth about $150 million. The warehouse belonged to Kimberly-Clark, which makes paper products for homes and businesses. The site is about an hour from Los Angeles.

Police said Abdulkarim sent a message to co-workers after the fire and compared himself to Luigi Mangione. Mangione was charged with killing a health insurance executive in December 2024. That case was linked to anger about health care costs in the US. Police also said a video on social media appears to show Abdulkarim starting fires inside the warehouse.

In the video, the person says he does not make enough money to live. Officials called the fire an attack on American businesses. At a press conference, they said they would act strongly against people who use violence against companies. Police are still checking the evidence carefully and studying the video for more information.

Speaker: American Male  Duration: 1:44  Watch on YouTube

Two ways to use this audio:

  • Method 1: Listen for the main idea: what is the article about in one sentence? Listen a second time for more details, then try the Understanding activities below.
  • Method 2: Read the article first to learn the vocabulary and ideas. Then look at the gap-fill sentences to see what to listen for, and listen to fill them in.

Listen and Fill Gaps

Listen to the audio on eslnewsstories.com and complete the gaps below:

On (1) , a huge fire destroyed a paper warehouse in Ontario, California. Police say the fire started around 12:30 a.m. and became very large very quickly. About 175 (2) came to the scene to help, but the building and many paper products were lost.

Police later arrested Chamel Abdulkarim, a 29-year-old (3) at the warehouse. He now faces serious charges, including arson. Officials say the damage may be more than $600 million. They believe about $500 (4) in paper goods were destroyed, and the warehouse itself was worth about $150 million. The warehouse belonged to Kimberly-Clark, which makes paper products for homes and businesses. The site is about an hour from Los Angeles.

Police said Abdulkarim sent a (5) to co-workers after the fire and compared himself to Luigi Mangione. Mangione was charged with killing a health insurance executive in December 2024. That case was linked to anger about health care costs in the US. Police also said a video on social media appears to show Abdulkarim starting fires inside the warehouse.

In the video, the person says he does not make enough money to live. Officials called the fire an attack on American businesses. At a press conference, they said they would act strongly against people who use violence against companies. Police are still checking the (6) carefully and studying the video for more information.

Main Idea

Choose one answer, then click CHECK to see your result.

Main Idea

Choose one:

  • Firefighters responded to a warehouse fire in California, and the story focuses on their efforts to control the fire.
  • A huge fire destroyed a paper warehouse in California, and police later arrested a worker as they investigated the case. Correct answer
  • Police are mainly investigating a connection between the fire and Luigi Mangione.
True or False

Answer each question by selecting True or False, then click CHECK to see your results.

  • Police say the fire started around 12:30 a.m.
    The first paragraph says the fire started around 12:30 a.m.
  • The warehouse was about an hour from Los Angeles.
    The second paragraph says the site is about an hour from Los Angeles.
  • Police said Abdulkarim was a firefighter at the scene.
    The story says he was a 29-year-old employee at the warehouse.
  • Officials believe the total damage may be more than $600 million.
    The story says officials believe the damage may be more than $600 million.

True or False

1. Police say the fire started around 12:30 a.m. TRUEFALSE True

2. The warehouse was about an hour from Los Angeles. TRUEFALSE True

3. Police said Abdulkarim was a firefighter at the scene. TRUEFALSE False

4. Officials believe the total damage may be more than $600 million. TRUEFALSE True

Put Events in Order

Put the events from the story in the correct order from first (1) to last (5):

  • Police said Abdulkarim sent co-workers a message after the fire.
  • Firefighters came to the scene, but the building and many paper products were lost.
  • Officials said they would act strongly while police kept checking the evidence.
  • The fire started at the paper warehouse in Ontario, California.
  • Police later arrested warehouse employee Chamel Abdulkarim.
  1. The fire started at the paper warehouse in Ontario, California.
  2. Firefighters came to the scene, but the building and many paper products were lost.
  3. Police later arrested warehouse employee Chamel Abdulkarim.
  4. Police said Abdulkarim sent co-workers a message after the fire.
  5. Officials said they would act strongly while police kept checking the evidence.

Multiple Choice

1. When did police say the fire started?

   a) Around 12:30 a.m.Correct

   b) Around 12:30 p.m.

   c) Late Tuesday afternoon

   d) Early Wednesday morning

2. What was Abdulkarim's job at the site?

   a) Police officer

   b) Warehouse employeeCorrect

   c) Firefighter

   d) Truck driver

3. What did police say Abdulkarim sent to co-workers after the fire?

   a) A video

   b) A photo

   c) A messageCorrect

   d) A bill

4. What are police still doing now?

   a) Rebuilding the warehouse

   b) Selling the paper products

   c) Moving the company to Los Angeles

   d) Checking the evidence and studying the videoCorrect

Words That Go Together

Loading vocabulary activity...

Words That Go Together

Match each word with the words it goes with:

1. Destroyf) a warehouse

2. Arreste) an employee

3. Startd) a fire

4. Checkc) the evidence

5. Useb) violence

6. Causea) damage

a) damage

b) violence

c) the evidence

d) a fire

e) an employee

f) a warehouse

Discussion Builder

Discussion Builder

Choose the best phrase for each gap:

  1. Low pay can make people very angry they may feel their work is not respected.

    and / because / but / so

    Low pay can make people very angry because they may feel their work is not respected.

  2. Damage to a company is serious, damage to people is usually worse.

    so / and / but / because

    Damage to a company is serious, but damage to people is usually worse.

  3. companies should listen earlier when workers keep saying they are unhappy.

    So, / To me, / For example, / But,

    To me, companies should listen earlier when workers keep saying they are unhappy.

Sentence Unscramble

  1. A. service. B. cheaper housing C. For example, D. cities could offer E. better bus F. and

    For example, cities could offer cheaper housing and better bus service.

  2. A. can become B. wind and paper C. because D. hard to stop E. them fast. F. Big fires G. can spread

    Big fires can become hard to stop because wind and paper can spread them fast.

  3. A. a strong punishment B. huge damage. C. is fair D. if E. I think F. arson causes

    I think a strong punishment is fair if arson causes huge damage.

Discussion Questions

  1. Did anything from this story surprise you? Why?
  2. The person in the video says he does not make enough money to live. Why can low pay make people angry?
  3. How can a city help workers who feel they cannot live on their pay?
  4. Why do you think big fires can become hard to stop?
  5. What jobs do firefighters do besides putting out fires?
  6. Is damage to a company the same as damage to people? Why or why not?
  7. Do you think companies should do more to listen to unhappy workers?
  8. Is it ever okay to use violence against a business? Why or why not?
  9. What is a fair punishment for arson that causes huge damage?
  10. Do news stories about crime affect how safe people feel? How?

Answers California Paper Warehouse Fire / Level 3

Think Ahead: b

Listening: (1) Tuesday, (2) firefighters, (3) employee, (4) million, (5) message, (6) evidence

Main Idea: A huge fire destroyed a paper warehouse in California, and police later arrested a worker as they investigated the case.

True or False:

  1. True. The first paragraph says the fire started around 12:30 a.m.
  2. True. The second paragraph says the site is about an hour from Los Angeles.
  3. False. The story says he was a 29-year-old employee at the warehouse.
  4. True. The story says officials believe the damage may be more than $600 million.

Multiple Choice: a, b, c, d

Put Events in Order:

  1. The fire started at the paper warehouse in Ontario, California.
  2. Firefighters came to the scene, but the building and many paper products were lost.
  3. Police later arrested warehouse employee Chamel Abdulkarim.
  4. Police said Abdulkarim sent co-workers a message after the fire.
  5. Officials said they would act strongly while police kept checking the evidence.

Vocabulary:

  1. Destroy: a warehouse
  2. Arrest: an employee
  3. Start: a fire
  1. Check: the evidence
  2. Use: violence
  3. Cause: damage

Discussion Builder:

Hints: 1) Reason. 2) Contrast. 3) Opinion.

  1. because
  2. but
  3. To me,

Sentence Unscramble:

  1. For example, cities could offer cheaper housing and better bus service.
  2. Big fires can become hard to stop because wind and paper can spread them fast.
  3. I think a strong punishment is fair if arson causes huge damage.

eslnewsstories.com