© 2026 ABC News

Ontario is about 40 miles east of Los Angeles.

taken from sultana and francis so scary! pic.twitter.com/dhoXRiyEID

— jimmy (@jvmiexo) March 16, 2021

Nearby residents shared videos on social media of people running away as more fireworks exploded and sent smoke into the air.

It scared me and shook the whole house :sweat_smile: pic.twitter.com/BwQM12750g

— kawaii :feet: (@supersupersteff) March 16, 2021

One resident, whose house shook, thought it was an earthquake. Another neighbor told Los Angeles ABC station KABC that the blast broke their windows.

\"PHOTO:
KABC
PHOTO: An aerial image shows an explosion in Ontario, Calif., March 16, 2021.
>
\"PHOTO:
KABC
PHOTO: An aerial image shows a massive explosion in Ontario, Calif., March 16, 2021.
>

As of 3:30 p.m. local time, firefighters were still battling the fire.

Alex Stone reports for ABC News Radio:

ABC News' Matt Gutman contributed to this report.

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