Shane Selmer cuts away the fallen burned trees that line the trail as the tour guides that once led wine hikes trail behind him, raking and clearing the path of larger debris. 

There was extensive damage done by the Woolsey fire at the Saddle Rock Ranch, which is home of the Malibu Wine Hikes and Malibu Wine Safari. However, the ranch will not only be reopening for hikes, it will be opening up a new trail as well.  

Selmer grew up on the 1000-acre property and he now operates the Malibu Wine Hikes. He said he was prepared for the worst when walking through with the group.

“I was worried I was going to get a little emotional. I'm actually in pretty good spirits, feels good to rebuild," he says.

Rebuilding and also reforming. The fire burned down an overgrown area of the trail, so now Selmer plans to redesign the path that visitors will be able to hike.

“I feel how my dad felt when he started the property and it'll be nice to see it go grow. I'm really excited to see what this looks like in two to three years,” he says.

As the team makes their way down the pathway, Selmer checks on the next part of the trail, where all the animals now live.  

He takes some time to talk with Joanne Pittard who is the owner of a horse named Toby.

Toby is one of nearly 100 animals that were at the ranch when the fire broke out. He was moved the day of the fire away from a barn structure that was badly damaged, an action that Pittard is hugely thankful for.

“I've been here for like 14 years on the ranch and I just love it and every everyone's been wonderful,” she said.

Selmer makes his way through the vineyard picking up shattered pieces of the white vinyl fence that once lined the property. Once he and the team are done, they'll go to check in on the ranch's most well-known resident, Stanley the Giraffe.

Pictures of Stanley in in his enclosure went viral in the days after the fire. Numerous people were calling out the family for how they dealt with the evacuations, accusing them of putting Stanley in harm's way.

However, Selmer maintains that with no brush surrounding Stanley or the other nearby animals, letting them stay put was the best option.

“It really just hurt my feelings, and a lot of other people that work here," he said. 

"Because I mean, it's not like we were trying to do anything or, you know, harm anybody or anything. But it seemed like that's what people thought that we were trying to do.”

As the hike nears its conclusion, Selmer comes up on what remains of the family home that was lost in the fire. 

“Yeah, it's weird. And it's strange, and it's surreal. But we're going to do things like we're doing today and make new memories and make new trails and have fun,” he says.

The family has a long way to go, but they are excited about what the future holds.