No lives were lost, but Lee was one of three to become homeless.
Standing with her former husband Paul Lee and his partner, Jani Dennis, who all own the property, the trio could do nothing as they watched from a safe distance as the blaze slowly circled then eventually engulfed her house.
Lee said she was mowing her lawns when her neighbour ran over and told her to get out as there was a "hell fire" on the small peninsula at the end of Comers Rd.
She quickly ran inside and grabbed her flute and cellphone - things she now regrets, instead wishing she'd taken a few prized family possessions instead.
When the Herald visited the site late last year, the signs of both growth and devastation were evident.
The fire had been spasmodic in its path. At one stage the flames were raging on the east, when they suddenly moved west.
Lee can still clearly recall the moment her house was taken.
Lee, Paul and Dennis were standing at the cordon and all of a sudden there was a loud "boom".
Comers Rd residents Helen Lee (L) talks with neighbour Jani Dennis on the day of the fire, January 18, this year. Photo/Belinda Feek
"I saw it way up the end of the road ... you could see the flames on the hill and then there was this humongous explosion and I thought, 'that's it, that's my house'," Lee said.
"The tears just flowed but I felt like I was being held, I felt like I was being looked after and I had an incredible sense that everything was going to be alright. It was quite overwhelming."
A Fire Service investigation couldn't pinpoint one specific cause, instead narrowing it down to either a deliberate burn or a spark from a digger exhaust igniting dry grass.
Coromandel police determined the more likely cause being from the digger.
Either way, neither of them hold any grudge or care about why it started, it was now about moving on and doing their best to protect their properties in the future.
Paul Lee walks through the charred debris just hours after the fire was put out. Photo/Belinda Feek
"It was tinder dry," Dennis said. "It was a really hot, dry. Any spark could have started it. Even by the time they found it could have been right through the bush anyway. That's why it got so big, they [Fire Service] thought 'oh we can contain this' but then suddenly realised they couldn't contain it.
"More firemen came and they realised it was out of control because it was too windy."
"The fire has happened and we are putting the land back together and no mater how the fire started, it's the same result."
Dennis and Paul were critically close to losing their home as the flames closed in. The helicopters were stood down about midnight and were due back up again at 6am. She described them like angels in the sky as they began circling her home, dousing it in water which would eventually save it.
"The helicopters started again and it was just pure luck. Then they concentrated on the houses that hadn't burnt down."
They had taken heed of firefighters recommendations to protect their home by creating more green space and planting new grass around their home and creating fire breaks amongst the bush.
In total they've shelled out about $20,000 on their property including buying a second water tank. They were grateful for the Mayoral Fund which amassed about $20,000. They applied for $2000 to help buy some new grass and fix the road.
The remains of Helen Lee's prized grand piano. Photo/Belinda Feek
"We've had to work quite hard at restoring things, it's cost us a lot of money ... yeah, we're insured but we weren't insured for things like a new water tank."
She thanked fire crews for hanging around for weeks after the fire, dampening down hot spots.
"They didn't let us down," she said.
Back at Lee's property, she's been floored by help from the local community. It began with a $2000 donation from the Lions Club, $10,000 worth of trees - for the whole hill - from Waikato Regional Council.
"There were quite a few rattled relationships on the hill and we had people working on each other's places who hadn't talked to each other for years so it was quite good. It drew people together and even the guy whose place the fire started on, a whole bunch of volunteers went and did some planting there.
One of the many sheets of music lost in the fire. Photo/Belinda Feek
The local Kea, Brownies and Scouts groups planted 500 trees with the help from leaders, parents and their children.
"The dads got around and dug all the holes and the kids were running round with trees and [fertiliser] tablets and sticks. It was magic, actually.
"It was then we sort of realised we can do this."
After the fire she spent nine months living with friends in Whitianga. When spring arrived she knew she had to get back to the hill so bought a caravan to plonk on the site.
She was keen to rebuild but was wary of the hoops she'll have to jump through with new building regulations.
As for how her property is now, natural regeneration had seen new growth, new leaves sprouting off the branches of charred trees, and a view she'd never seen before.
"You see the land in a completely different way. You couldn't see that view with all the bush. It's sort of like discovery the land again."
She said the best thing was knowing nobody died.
"It's brought people together and brought out the best in us I think. There's been many blessings. I kept myself sane by working to recreate order from chaos.
"It will be nice to build another place eventually, I think. I feel quite excited about the future, I'm really lucky, aren't I."
Helen Lee inspects the new plantings of Kauri on her property last month. Photo/Alan Gibson
