Fran and Reg Cleland's lives disintegrated as they watched a bushfire burn their Victorian home down and kill their pets.
Now they've joined more than 150 property owners from the Mickleham-Kilmore region in a class action against energy company AusNet Services over the February 9 blaze.
Lawyers for the group argue the fire began when a clearly hazardous tree fell onto high voltage power conductors and that it could have been prevented.
Mrs Cleland said she thought February 9 would be her last day when "a ball of fire" engulfed their home, killing their seven horses and beloved alpaca.
"My garden, my house, my home, my whole life went in one hour," she told reporters at Mickleham on Thursday.
"I'm not the same person I was on February 9."
She said the class action was not about money because so much of their loss was irreplaceable.
"It's not the money, it's the recognition of what we all suffered," Mrs Cleland said.
"One tree has caused so much havoc and they've got to answer for that because they could have done something about it.
"It can't bring back what we lost. It's more the fact that whatever it does helps us to move on just a little."
One of the Cleland's sons also lost his home.
The fire is estimated to have affected about 300 property owners when it burnt out 22,900 hectares, destroyed 20 homes and killed hundreds of cattle and more than 14,000 sheep.
"Our best estimate at the moment is the total damages bill is likely to be in the order of $50 million," Maddens Lawyers class action principal Brendan Pendergast told reporters.
He said the action was being taken against AusNet because it was the principal distributor and responsible for ensuring the safe distribution of power.
An AusNet spokesman says the company's bushfire mitigation and vegetation management programs complied with regulation, and the company will defend the proceedings lodged in the Victorian Supreme Court on Wednesday.
"AusNet Services is confident of the appropriateness and effectiveness of its systems, policies and practices," the spokesman said in a statement.
"We believe we acted prudently at all times and therefore intend to vigorously defend the proceedings."
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