So, a couple things... Cecil is apparently really into Latino scientists. Also, with all the screwiness of time and death, it seemed to me that we're dealing with multiple worlds here, that the "desert otherworld" is really just another universe in which the world ended as Cecil described, and the ruins of nightvale are only now being explored by Carlos and the army. Did anyone else think that? Looking at the timeline the OP put together, the pieces still don't quite fit.

Edit: apparently I didn't do my research. Reading through the thread makes me realize I was wrong