Flathead Valley’s ripening cherry crop was not damaged despite heavy rainfall at Yellow Bay and other areas around Flathead Lake.

Grower Dan Getman reported no damage to his cherry orchard about a mile north of Yellow Bay.

“We’re early in the season; no one in my area has ripe cherries,” Getman said. “It’s not quite as vulnerable [to rain damage]. However, in a week to 10 days, then we’ll be more vulnerable. Then we’ll be watching every cloud that goes by.”

The Flathead Lake Biological Station at Yellow Bay recorded a half inch of rain between 4 p.m. Monday and 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Ken Edgington of the Flathead Lake Cherry Growers Association, who also grows cherries at Yellow Bay, said the rain was forecasted far enough ahead of time to allow growers time to look at their orchards and put helicopters on notice.

“We got about a half inch of rain, and the helicopter started as soon as it was light,” Edgington said, noting that helicopters blew the water off cherry trees throughout orchards in that area Tuesday morning.

At Orchard Estate, also in the Yellow Bay area, Susan Hoover said her cherry crop wasn’t damaged.

“The helicopter flew over and was buzzing through, drying everything off,” Hoover said.

A spokeswoman for Bowman Orchards on Sugar Hill Road said there were no problems there from the rain, which lasted only about 10 minutes. Bowman’s harvest is about a week to 10 days out, she said.

On the west side of Flathead Lake, Louise Swanberg said her orchard a mile north of Lakeside also was spared damage. About a quarter inch of rain fell in the Lakeside and Polson areas.

“These little flash-in-the-pan rains, they’re not as big a problem as a sustained drizzle over two or three days,” Swanberg said.

It’s also “just a smidgen early” this year for the harvest. “We’re all just about three days late this year; no one has ripe fruit yet,” she added.

The cherry harvest is still on track to begin around July 21. This year’s crop should produce an average crop of about 1.5 million pounds.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.