A firefighter searches the perimeter of a burning structure at Soda Rock Vineyards during the Kincade Fire in Healdsburg, California, U.S. on Sunday, October 27, 2019. (Photo: Philip Pacheco/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) — A federal judge overseeing the probation of utility giant PG&E Corp. is demanding information on a power line that failed minutes before a massive wildfire broke out last month in Northern California.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered PG&E to respond to several questions about so-called jumper cables after the San Francisco utility giant disclosed that one had broken where the Kincade Fire erupted in Sonoma County on Oct. 23. The blaze is still burning north of San Francisco and has damaged or destroyed almost 450 structures.

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