On July 4th, 1960 at about 3:54 pm The Odessa Fire Department responded to a major structure fire at the Odessa American Newspaper Plant. The fire was contained in the Odessa American's new addition, which was nearing completion. The fire started in a section of the building containing rolls of newsprint and was out of control for two hours. About 180 tons of rolled newsprint caught fire in the southeast corner of the new building. Intense heat from the burning paper caused one wall to buckle and another to crack.

Thousands of gallons of water used to combat the fire caused additional damage along with a heavy rain the next day on July 5th drenched the damaged building further.