ANAHEIM, Calif. – Calm winds helped firefighters gain ground Thursday on an 8,743-acre wildfire in Orange County and two smaller brush fires in Southern California. No homes were threatened.The wildfire east of Anaheim was 41 percent contained and most of the remaining work involved widening firebreaks, said Kymbra Steig, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Fire Authority.”It’s still within the containment line,” she said.The blaze was not burning near any buildings. A toll road that had been closed reopened Wednesday.

About 2,190 firefighters were on the scene. Six received minor injuries.The U.S. Forest Service has said the big blaze was apparently ignited by remnants of a controlled burn conducted Feb. 2 in the Cleveland National Forest. The fire roared to life before dawn on Monday as gusty, dry and hot Santa Ana winds swept through the region. Hundreds of homes were threatened over two days.However, “the winds have significantly died down,” Steig said.

The firefighting effort has cost $2.3 million, said Jerry Snyder, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.”Since we’re responsible for the fire, we’re going to pay for the bill for this fire,” Richard Hawkins, U.S. Forest Service fire chief for the Cleveland National Forest, said Wednesday.In San Diego County, a fire that broke out Wednesday evening near the mountain town of Julian was 80 percent surrounded.The 35-acre blaze was burning in timber, grass and brush 40 miles northeast of San Diego. About 125 firefighters were on the line.

“The winds are calm, and that’s good,” said Roxanne Provaznik, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry.In Los Angeles County, a 37-acre fire in steep, rocky canyons near Malibu was contained.—On the Net:National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov/