On the wildfires

Why do people in New Mexico fantasize about the "end times" and the "apocalypse"? I took one look at the ash-covered sky and thought "Mars" ... guess my sensibilities are different. Alternate realities, life on other planets .. setting foot on other planets - this is what I saw. Why do New Mexicans fantasize about the world coming to an end? It's bizarre and I don't understand it.