I was actually following the development of this (since the discovery that all the Sensor Bar does is emit UV rays), and saw the first video of someone using candles to replace the sensor bar a few days ago.

Joystiq took the opportunity to test it out themselves, and even blow out the candles to prove it. Pretty cool. Of course Nintendo won't condone doing this since it's a big ol' fire hazard depending on the state of your gaming area, but it's good to know this works. Perhaps when people were having issues with the Wii Pointer previously, it was because of the UV rays from the sun screwing around with it.