UW-L: Drake and Wittich Halls will open for 2012-13 school year - WXOW News 19 La Crosse, WI – News, Weather and Sports |

La Crosse, WI (WXOW) - Two UW-La Crosse buildings damaged by two separate fires will be functional for the upcoming school year.

Drake Hall contains dorm rooms for students while Wittich Hall is an contains academic and training space.

Both suffered damage from two separate fires within the last year.

The university's insurance covered the damage caused by both fires. Drake Hall's damage totaled $3 million.  Wittich Hall's damage estimate is around $400,000.

Drake Hall is currently open, and Chancellor Joe Gow says the displaced residents are very excited to get back in.

"There are a lot of students that lived in that building and they were displaced and they'll be returning and they're very excited to get back to, they call it their home, and it's going to look better than ever," said Chancellor Gow.

"The Wittich fire was actually in a small storage area and so, the big part of the clean-up is really the smoke damage throughout the building. In some instances it left soot on the walls that had to be repainted, but also there's an odor that we have to get that all aired out," added Gow.

Although Wittich Hall is not currently open, Gow said it will be ready for the 2012-2013 school year.

Classes officially start at UW-La Crosse on September 4.