Malibu's First Public Safety Director Is Stepping Down

Susan Dueñas steered the city through the Woolsey and Palisades fires, facing both commendation and criticism.

Holly Bieler · September 7, 2026

Susan Dueñas, who has run Malibu's Public Safety Department since the job was created in 2017, is leaving City Hall.

Malibu contracts with the county for police and fire, so its public safety director is a coordinator rather than a chief, overseeing a range of sectors including emergency management, wildfire preparedness and the city's homelessness programs. A handful of other contract cities, among them [Bellflower](https://bellflower.ca.gov/departments/public_safety/index.php), have a similar post.

Dueñas assumed the position [in April 2017](https://www.malibusurfsidenews.com/city/malibu-hires-due%C3%B1as-new-public-safety-manager), after nearly 15 years with the Ventura County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services. Only a year and a half into her tenure, the Woolsey Fire ravaged much of west Malibu, destroying 488 homes inside the city limits and killing three people.

Dueñas faced criticism in the fire's aftermath, largely over evacuation warnings, which she acknowledged had failed in some areas. The first major disaster in Malibu since the advent of social media, the city's communication breakdown during the Woolsey Fire revealed a deeply unnerving, if obvious, question: how do you warn people about a fire when they don't have cell service?

In the following years, Dueñas dedicated significant time and resources to finding an answer, investing in Beacon Boxes, satellite phones and radio repeaters, and securing a FEMA grant for warning systems. Her work drew notice beyond Malibu: in 2023, she spoke at a conference held by the International Association of Emergency Managers.

However her efforts were ultimately called into question seven years later, when an [after-action review](https://www.smdp.com/malibu-reviews-wildfire-response-outlines-fixes-after-devastating-2024-25-fire-season/) of the Palisades Fire found power shutoffs had again crippled the city's Everbridge alert system.

Dueñas’ work extended beyond fires. At last week’s public safety meeting, one of her last, commissioners lauded her accomplishments in public safety, including successfully having a sheriff’s deputy assigned to Malibu’s schools, after years of lobbying. One commissioner also noted that Dueñas had overseen a reduction in Malibu’s homeless population by more than 80%.

The city is currently interviewing candidates to replace Dueñas, though it hasn’t released a succession timeline.

"I don't know when the white smoke's coming up," a leader of the city's Volunteers on Patrol told her during last week's Public Safety Commission meeting, before thanking Dueñas "for all the years going back to Woolsey."

The meeting ended with a commissioner jokingly moving to adjourn "in the memory of Susan," and a round of applause.